A Not So Holy Grail War
by TheRealMcLovin
Summary: After defeating Vergil and escaping Demon World, Dante expected to return to a life of demons and debt. He wasn't expecting to get a new room mate and be served with the will of his long dead mother. Now, in a new city and a new country. Dante finds himself wrapped up in a war he never knew existed. Now, for the sake of the world, he must win at all cost.
1. Chapter 1

**Fate Stay/Night and Devil May Cry are the property of Kinoko Nasu & Type-Moon and Capcom & Ninja Theory respectively. The Dresden Files is owned by Jim Butcher and Roc Books. Please support the official releases.**

"I guess this is home, sweet home now, huh?" asked a white-haired youth, his gaze focused on the two-story house before him. "It's in pretty good shape for a place that hasn't been lived in for twenty years."

"Not surprising for a house that was owned by a witch and a demon," remarked the dark-haired female beside him.

His blue eyes met her own heterochromatic, red and green eyes. "My mom was a MAGE, not a witch. That goes for you too. If you want to call yourself a witch, you better have the broomstick and warts to back it up."

"I'm surprised you even know what a broom is, Dante. Your last place was a wreck."

"Well, this is the only house my mom left in the will, so I guess we'll have to not wreck it," said Dante.

Roughly a month after his showdown with Vergil in the Demon World, Dante was paid a visit by a woman who claimed to be an old friend of his family. She was dedicated, having searched for him for the last twenty years to give him his inheritance. Included in the will, was the house, a large sum of money,a letter, and his mother's personal journal. By perusing the contents of the letter he'd learned of his mother's true nature as a mage.

The demon slayer jumped at the opportunity to relocate to a residence that wasn't a complete mess. His newest friend, Lady, came along as well, having stayed with him since the Temen-Ni-Gru incident, not wanting to live somewhere that was a constant reminder of her dead family. A week after receiving the will, the duo found themselves in Fuyuki City, Japan. By the time they had found their way to the house, it was already late afternoon.

"Your mom had good taste, I'll give her that," admitted Lady. "Do me a favor and grab our bags."she asked as she guided her motorcycle to the driveway of her new home.

"Sure thing," replied Dante. "I don't see why I always have to get the bags," he murmured under his breath, thinking of the handful of long distance missions that required them to stay at a hotel.

"It's because it's the gentleman's job to get the bags. Surely you don't mean to tell me you're not a gentleman!" she teased. It slightly disturbed him when he first discovered her incredible sense of hearing. It all made sense when Lady admitted to being a Magus, herself. All of the demons she had come across in Temen-Ni-Gru were incredibly weak, leaving her use of magic unnecessary. Except for Vergil. She chose not to engage him when she sensed just how powerful he was. To challenged him would have been suicidal.

Ever since they had become friends, Lady had made a habit out of teasing him. Dante rolled his eyes before striding across the lawn to his new home. The demon hunter couldn't help but notice how immaculate the lawn was for a residence long since abandoned. The grass and hedges were evenly cut and the large apple tree was laden with ripe fruit.

If he had to hazard a guess, Dante would chalk it up as being the work of some type of magic.

After several long strides, Dante found himself at the open doorway to the house, Lady having already parked her motorcycle.

Dante carefully placed their bags next to the door.

"Thank you for your assistance, man-servant," said Lady.

"But of course, Master. I live to serve," retorted Dante, hiumoring his female friend.

Lady smirked before she gathered her belongings and went upstairs.

Once she was gone, Dante surveyed his surroundings, acutely aware of the warm, welcoming vibe he picked up after only being in the house for a few seconds.

"Martha Stewart, eat your heart out," he murmured. Dante proceeded to raid the kitchen, hoping to fill his empty belly. He was out of luck, it seemed that magic did not extend to conjuring food.

Looks like it was pizza for dinner. That was fine by him.

After checking with Lady on her preferred toppings, Dante whipped out his recently purchased cell phone, having already memorized the numbers of every pizza joint within a ten mile radius before leaving America. A man had to have priorities.

Having made his order, he elected to explore the house while he waited on his dinner.

The first floor was nothing special, just possessing the laundry room, living area, and a couple of bathrooms.

He trudged upstairs, hoping to find something worthwhile. If he was lucky, maybe he would find something left behind by his parents.

He'd discovered that Lady had already claimed one of the three guest room for herself. That left the master bedroom for his own use.

Once inside, Dante immediately took noticed of the large portrait hanging just above the headboard of the king-sized bed. The image captured was that of his once whole family. His parents stood behind a young Vergil and Dante, beaming down at them with unconcealed pride.

It had been so long since his family was in one piece that the image came across as almost bizarre to him. He stared wistfully at what appeared to be a typical happy family.

Dante focused on the image of his father. When he was younger, he hated the man for making their family a target for demons. But, as he grew older, that hate faded to apathy. Holding a grudge for a dead man served him no good. it wasnt until recently, after fighting through Temen-Ni-Gru and facing Vergil in the world of demons that he grew to respect his father and feel pride in sharing the same blood as him.

Lost in his thoughts, Dante continued to stare at the portrait. He was ultimately brought back to reality by the shouts of his house mate.

"Pizza's here!"

He felt his stomach growl at the reminder that he hadn't eaten in several hours.

Heeding the desires of his hungry stomach, he promptly dumped his luggage on the bed before quickly leaving. On the way out, Dante took one last glance at the portrait.

When he made it to the living room, he was greeted by the sight of Lady already devouring a slice of pizza from one of several pizza boxes on the coffee table.

"What? You couldn't wait for me?"

Dante heard her say something along the lines of "You're one to talk" It was hard to tell with her mouth filled to the brim with food.

Dinner was relatively quiet, the silence only broken when they made plans to go shopping the following day. Less than an hour later, they went to sleep, but not before Dante skimmed the first few pages of his mother's journal.

 **THE NEXT DAY**

Despite leaving the house at ten o' clock, it was growing dark by the time they had finished shopping. Along with food, Dante and Mary went searching for more modern appliances (the appliances in the house were twenty years out of date) toiletries, and other miscellaneous items.

Much to his chagrin, Dante was made to carry most of the bags. According to Lady, it was his duty as a gentleman to do so. Luckily, they were relatively few in number, the two having bought several duffel bags to carry the items. Dante may have been an extremely powerful demon hunter, but even he couldn't carry fifty bags at once. There wasn't enough room on his body.

By the time they had made it halfway home, day had turned to night, the dark streets lit by a combination of the street lamps and the brilliant glow of the full moon.

"You know, it feels weird to spend this much money at once, and not further bury myself in debt," Dante thought aloud.

"You're going to need to learn to better handle your money so we don't drown in debt and lose the house. You already paid off a crippling debt, you don't need to accrue another one."

Dante rolled his eyes at her words. "Your lack of faith wounds me," he lamented in mock despair. "Come on, this is me we're talking about here.

"It's a valid concer-"

Lady found herself abruptly interrupted when she was scooped up by Dante before he jumped to safety.

Any questions she may have had were immediately answered when the spot where stood just moments before was riddled with several crossbow bolts and smashed by an absurdly large blade. The assault on the pavement kicked up a cloud of dust and debris, temporarily obscuring their attackers.

"You fool! Our orders were to observe and nothing more. I shouldn't have to babysit you!" a deep, baritone voice spoke from within the smokescreen.

"Where's your sense of adventure! Come on, we can take them on no problem!" protested a second voice in a thick Italian accent.

" I hate to interrupt your lover's quarrel, but I heard you two coming a mile away. You're not as stealthy as you think," scoffed Dante as he deposited both Lady and the duffel bags on the sidewalk.

Dante heard one of their attackers growl at his words.

When the dust had settled, Dante's first thought was that he should probably copyright his outfit. The first of their two attackers had not just ripped a page out of Dante's book in terms of style, he had stolen the whole damn book. He was tall with short black hair and seemed to be in his late thirties. Like Dante, he was clad in a long red jacket and black pants. He even had a large sword resting on his shoulder. Oddly, he wore sunglasses despite it being dark.

The other assailant was clothed in white, hooded robes. The upper half of his face was shrouded by the hood. They were able to determine that he had tan skin and a small beard. Clutched in his hand was a repeating crossbow.

The bowman then spoke, his every syllable drowned in his thick accent.

"Speak for yourself. He seems to be the only real threat here. If it weren't for him, the girl would certainly be dead."

Lady gnashed her teeth in anger. "Why don't you come over here and I'll show you just how non-threatening I am!"

The hooded assailant seemed to take great amusement in her reaction.

"Oh, did I touch a nerve?" he taunted. He then peered more closely at her, as if studying her for an answer that eluded him. Moments later, his eyes widened in recognition. "Wait a minute, brown hair, heterochromatic eyes. You wouldn't happen to be related to Kalina Ann, would you?"

"What's it to you?" she growled.

Her antagonizer snapped his fingers in realization. "I've got it! You must be her daughter! My master told me all about the fearsome Kalina Ann. You don't seem to be nearly as powerful as she was rumored to be. Then again, how strong could she have been if she was murdered by a mere human!" he cackled.

That was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"I'll kill you, you son of a bitch!" she roared as she charged in anger.

"You'll have to catch me first!" he taunted before turning tail and disappearing around the corner of an adjacent street, the enraged young woman right on his tail.

"Lady, wait!" Dante called out, recognizing the ploy. He made to follow, but the man in red moved directly into his path, blocking him from pursuit.

"If you want to save your friend, you'll have to defeat me, first."

"I guess I'll just have to make this quick then," Dante taunted as he removed the guitar case from his back. "You going to give me a name to put on your grave? It wouldn't feel right to just carve 'Copycat' on your tomb stone."

"You may call me Ronin. Now, I believe it's only proper you return the sentiment," said Ronin as he leveled his sword at Dante.

Dante proceeded to press a button on the side of the case, sending a large object flying through a new opening in the top of the case. Upon catching the object, it was revealed to be a large sword, the blade glinting in the moonlight. It was Rebellion, his signature weapon inherited from his father.

"The name's Dante."

The silver-haired swordsman rocketed forward, his sword poised to pierce Ronin. His attempt to end the fight quickly was foiled as Ronin blocked with his own blade.

"You're fast," complimented Ronin.

"Just try and keep up, old man," retorted Dante as he went for a decapitating strike and haymaker combo. The sword strike was batted aside while he tilted his head away from the incoming fist.

Ronin effortlessly swung his large sword, aiming to cleave Dante in two. It was now Dante's turn to defend as he parried the strike before going in for a stab to the gut. Ronin twisted out of the way at the last second, but not without being lightly grazed on his side. Ronin retaliated with his own haymaker, only managing to hit open air.

Dante brought Rebellion down in a low swing to severe one of Ronin's legs. Ronin managed to partially deflect the strike and was instead struck by the flat of the blade. Instead of losing his leg, he was knocked onto his back.

Ronin's eyes widened at the sight of Rebellion shooting towards his face point-first. Ronin hastily rolled to the side before jumping to his feet. He did not escape uninjured as he felt the sting of open air meeting rent flesh. He shrugged off the minor injury, paying little heed to the blood running down his cheek. The red-clad assailant attempted to bisect Dante. His target lazily sidestepped before hitting him with an open palm strike to the face.

Ronin slid back, his feet digging trenches in the road as a result of the power of the strike, leaving him disoriented. When his vision refocused, he noticed that his surroundings seemed to have grown brighter.

It took a moment for him notice the absent sensation of metal on his face.

"You missing something?" asked Dante.

Ronin focused his gaze on his opponent only for his now naked eyes to narrow at the sight of his sunglasses resting on Dante's face.

Dante quickly adopted a disgruntled expression as he spoke.

"What the hell? How are you able to see with these things?" commented Dante before promptly tossing the sunglasses back to their owner. Lady may have been in trouble, but that didn't mean he couldn't have some quick fun at his enemy's expense before he saved her.

Ronin growled as he put his sunglasses back on his face.

"Well, aren't we a rude one? I think it's time someone taught you some manners!" snarled Ronin before charging Dante.

Dante scoffed as he withdrew his silver pistol, "Ivory" from his jacket. "You're not the first to try and you definitely won't be the last!" yelled Dante as he met Ronin's charge.

The battle resumed once more, the two combatants attacking with great ferocity. They were like lightning incarnate, their blades moving too quickly for the human eye to detect. Dante boasted a slight advantage as he also had use of Ivory.

Ronin found himself hard pressed to withstand the combined assault. But Ronin didn't become a Heroic Spirit by being weak and unable to adapt. While difficult, he managed to launch counterattacks at random intervals, albeit at the cost of accumulating several injuries from bullets. Most shots grazed him, but he had sustained a gunshot wound to his shoulder and his hip.

Being relatively minor injuries for someone as strong as he, the wounds quickly healed over in flashes of blue light. The bullets lodged in his person were also pushed out from his body as a result.

Dante fared much better, having received a handful of small cuts to his person as well as a long but relatively shallow slash to the stomach. Much like Ronin, Dante's injuries rapidly closed as well. The only difference was his healing factor didn't come accompanied by bursts of light.

He found himself experiencing a rare bout of frustration. Dante wondered if this was how Vergil felt when they fought atop Temen-Ni-Gru. Much like his lost brother, Dante was vastly more powerful than his opponent, completely outclassing him. And yet, he just wouldn't fall despite his efforts to end the fight quickly.

They were both so focused on their opponent that neither combatant noticed Dante's spilt blood trail behind him of its own volition and proceeded to form vague shapes on the asphalt behind them.

Ronin managed to sneak in an uppercut, sending Dante careening back into the air. The demon hunter managed to correct himself in mid-air and land on his feet.

"You're good," noted Dante as he stowed away Ivory in his coat. "What do you say we take this up a notch?" Rebellion vanished in an abrupt burst of light. A second, brighter glow filled the air. When the brilliant display had cleared, Dante now wielded a scimitar in each hand, one a dull teal and the other a fiery orange.

"Round 2. Fight!" Announced Dante in a thick and decidedly racist Japanese accent.

Dante charged, his swords cloaked in wind and fire. Dante slid to a grinding halt, when he noticed the night being bathed in a crimson glow originating from somewhere behind him.

"NO!" roared Ronin as he rushed the light source, a red circle with intricate designs inside. Sword held high, Ronin attempted to decimate the circle with a mighty swing of his blade.

He found his efforts halted when his sword was blocked by one of Dante's scimitars.

"I know light shows are tacky, but it's rude to interrupt," chided Dante before he planted his foot in Ronins gut and sent him skidding back several feet.

The two swordsmen watched on, Ronin with dread, and Dante with curiosity.

They were forced to guard their eyes, as the light turned blinding. It took several moments for the light to down. When they opened their eyes once more, they looked on were greeted by the sight of a woman standing where the glowing circle was located just moments ago.

Her features were hard to make out, her body covered by a black, hooded cloak. Her only visible defining characteristic was her long purple hair dangling from underneath her hood.

She shifted her gaze to Dante, presumably making eye contact. It was difficult to determine as her eyes were shrouded in the darkness of the hood.

"I ask of you, are you my Master?"

Dante gaped at her in stunned silence.

She ignored his silent state and continued to speak.

"I am Servant Caster, reporting to answer your summons."

"Summons? Servant? What the hell are you talking about, lady?"

Despite the serious nature of his situation, him now being outnumbered two-to-one, Ronin let out a throaty chuckle..

"Incredible. You wield so much power yet remain woefully ignorant to what it means to be a Master. Look at the back of your hand, boy. You bear the Command Sigils, proof that you are now a Master in the Holy Grail War."

Dante looked at the gap in the back of his fingerless glove and saw that Ronin's words rang true. What was once unmarred flash, now bore a bright red skull tattoo neatly segmented into three sections.

"It was foolhardy to fight you with under half my power. Our Master's orders were only to observe but my callous partner got restless. It's ironic, considering his Servant class."

"Well, now you're going to have to pay for it." Said Dante as he turned to Caster. "You said you're my Servant. You think you can back me up?" asked Dante as he raised Agni and Rudra and assumed an offensive position.

"But of course. Master." Said Caster as her raised hands were shrouded in a purple light.

Ronin looked on unperturbed, his own weapon lowered. "You can either attack me and most certainly win, or you can save your friend from being killed by Assassin. The choice is yours."

Dante grit his teeth at his words. He was never one to leave a fight unfinished, but Lady's life was more of a priority.

"Get lost. If I see you again, I'm going to finish what I started. I promise you that," vowed Dante.

Without a word, Ronin disappeared in a blur of raw speed.

"Master, surely you're not serious! It's not too late to pursue and finish him."

"There's no fun in defeating an opponent who isn't at their best. Don't worry, We'll get another chance to take him down. Count on it. Saving my friend is more important right now."

Caster fully understood his actions, but that didn't mean she was happy about it. Dante noticed her look of displeasure.

"Look, I'm _asking_ you as your Master, to follow my lead on this. If you're worried about not getting to fight, don't be. No one loves a good fight more than me."

Caster was pleasantly surprised by his words. All of her previous Masters would have simply ordered her to comply with their wishes. He was the first to take her feelings into account. She had a feeling that she just might enjoy having him as a master.

"Could you do me a favor and grab these bags for me?"

Unless he makes a habit of treating her like a maid. In that case she would have to rethink her sentiments.

With a wave of her hand, Caster levitated the bags of groceries behind her.

"Lead the way, Master."

 **Lady's POV**

Lady was absolutely livid. First, some asshole in a hood and a Dante copycat attack her, then the hooded guy has the nerve to insult her dead mother. She wouldn't stand for such disrespect to the woman who loved and raised her.

That was why she was currently in pursuit of the white-clad offender, taking potshots with her pistols as she ran. She had yet to hit her target as he blindly danced out of the way of every bullet, taunting her all the while and further enraging her.

Less than three minutes later, the bowman came to a stop at an empty street corner, Lady hot on his trail.

He turned around, a cocky grin plastered on his face.

"I must say, you are an easy woman to anger. You remind me of the women of my city. Full of such passion, such _fire_ , it's a refreshing sight to be sure. It hardly matters now. I accomplished what I set out to do," he said as he drew a sword with a slender blade from the sheathe on his hip.

Trembling with barely restrained rage, Lady tightened her grip on her pistols. "What are you babbling on about?" she growled, failing to keep her voice from shaking.

The hooded assailant looked surprised at her words. "You mean you haven't figured it out," he asked. "Look around you. There's no one here but the two of us," he declared.

Lady's eyes narrowed. "You brought me here so you could kill me without Dante interfering."

He gave a slow, awkward clap (due to the sword still in his hand.) "Correct! You're as sharp as you look," he complimented. His face grew somber at his next words. "Before I kill you, it is only polite that I introduce myself. You may call me Assassin. Now, might I ask who you are, my dear?"

Lady dropped the duffle bag resting on her shoulder before quickly opening it. "I don't give my name to dead men," snarled Lady as she whipped an automatic shotgun from her bag and proceeded to open fire.

"I see you were never taught proper manners," said Assassin as he jumped out of the way of the incoming buckshot.

"On the contrary, my mother taught me to always say please. Now, _please_ die!" she yelled before unleashing a volley of shotgun shells. Lady grit her teeth in frustration as he dodged and weaved through every blast of her shotgun.

"It's no use fighting me, not when you can't even hit me!" he taunted.

"We'll just have to see about that!" snarled Lady before hastily taking another item from the open bag and stowing it in the waist of her skirt. Grabbing a pair of SMG's from her portable armory, Lady charged forward and opened fire.

Her target laughed as he either evaded or cut the incoming bullets in half with his sword. By the time she came within five feet of him, she had run out of ammo. Lady dropped the guns before closing the distance with a tight somersault. As she came out of the somersault, she retrieved a large knife from under her skirt as well as withdrawing the item she had stowed in the hem of her skirt. The mystery item was revealed to be nothing but a stout, two-feet long length of wood with intricate carvings on its surface.

With a mighty upward swing, she attempted to catch him in the jaw with the piece of timber. Assassin leaned his head away from the attack, narrowly evading a broken jaw or worse. As he dodged, he nearly failed to notice the knife slash headed towards his abdomen. Assassin jumped back, resulting in a long gash in the cloth of his robes.

Assassin looked upon Lady with a newfound interest.

"Well, well. Maybe you will give me an interesting fight after all!" laughed Assassin.

"Well, I'd hate to disappoint you!" growled Lady as she raised her small staff.

Lady focused her magic power into the staff, making one of several runes on its surface light up.

" _Fuego_!" cried Lady as she released the accumulated magic power in the form of a searing fireball.

Assassin dove to the side, leaving the mass of fire to strike a street sign behind him. The heat generated by the fireball was so great that it warped and melted the metal.

Assassin transitioned from a dive and into a roll. When he came out of the roll, he was surprised to see Lady had moved directly in front of him.

"Oh shi-"

Assassin was cut off by the sound of Lady calling out her next spell.

 **" _Forzare!"_**

Assassin felt like a cannon ball of invisible force struck him directly in the gut. Momentarily helpless, he was left with no choice but to allow the spell to slam him through a streetlight.

Assassin staggered to his feet while his shoulders shook.

'Is he…crying?' she wondered.

She received her answer when the empty streets were flooded with his peals of laughter.

"This is wonderful! Every time I think I have you figured out, you pull a new trick out of your sleeve!" cackled Assassin before he quickly sobered up. "Unfortunately, you can't hurt me."

Lady growled at being dismissed so easily.

"Oh yeah? Then what do you call the last two minutes?"

Assassin let out a throaty chuckle at her question before flashing her with a condescending smirk.

"Pity," answered Assassin.

With a shriek of rage, Lady bolted forward her next spell already on her lips.

 **" _Fulminas_!"** With a shout, a bolt of lightning rocketed out of the tip of her staff.

Assassin held up his sword while he channeled mana directly into the blade. Lightning met steel as he countered the spell with his magic-saturated blade. The electricity illuminated the night as unfiltered lightning struggled to make contact with its intended target.

With a bark of laughter, Assassin swung his sword, sending the fork of lightning careening to the side and onto the road.

Lady's nose crinkled in disgust at the acrid stench of melting asphalt.

"Do you see now, what I mean?" asked Assassin. "You attack me with lightning, one of the mightiest forces of nature, and yet I bat it aside with but a swing of my sword. You're outmatched, plain and simple. If you give up now, I promise to make your death quick and painless."

She collapsed to her knees in a mix of despair and exhaustion.

At that moment, Lady would be lying if she said she wasn't considering the offer. He was right, after all. She had no chance of winning. Would it not be better to simply give up and die with dignity?

Lady's morose train of thought was brought to an abrupt halt when the face of a certain demon hunter came to the forefront of her mind. She knew what he would say if he were there with her at that moment.

' _Come on, are you really going to lay down and die just because some clown pointed out that he's stronger than you? The Lady I know would get back up, give him the finger, and kick his ass regardless of the difference in strength.'_

"Even when he's not here, he's still pulling my ass out of the fire," Lady laughed to herself.

She rose to her feet, the fire in her eyes rekindled and blazing brighter than ever.

"So what if you're stronger? I'm still going to win this fight!" declared Lady. Unbeknownst to her, a tattoo in the likeness of a rose had appeared on the back of her hand.

Assassin was intrigued at her sudden change in disposition. Just moments ago, she had a look of utter defeat. But now she looked more determined than ever, as if she believed she could actually win.

"So be it. Just remember I gave you an easy way out." Assassin bolted forward, sword poised to end her. With reflexes she didn't know she possessed, Lady leaned away from his sword strike before swiping at his abdomen with her knife. Unlike before, Assassin was unable to escape without injury as he sustained a shallow gash to the chest.

He grew enraged at someone so much weaker than he managing to inflict even a modicum of damage upon his person. With a roar of fury, Assassin viciously backhanded her, sending her flying back several feet.

"Die!" yelled Assassin as he drew his crossbow and leveled it at his downed opponent.

Lady managed to scramble to her knees and pull something from her skirt's pocket just as he let loose the first bolt.

She thrust her occupied hand in front of her, her fist clenched around the string of a medallion bearing the image of St. Mary, one of her mother's last gifts to her. The medallion emitted a brilliant white light before projecting a shield made of reinforced magic.

The shield withstood bolt after bolt while it steadily grew weaker with every strike. By the time it had accrued a decoration of nearly twenty crossbow bolts, Lady felt the shield begin to grow unstable. The barrier's power was nearly depleted.

 _'No! I won't die here! Not today, not like this! I refuse to lose! I!WILL!WIN!'_ Lady mentally screamed.

At her silent declaration, a new voice intruded upon the sanctity of her mind.

' _I'm happy to hear that Master. Your determination is simply beautiful!'_

Lady was confused by the new voice in her mind, but was unable to ponder the implications as the back of her hand and the world around her was consumed by a crimson light accompanied by the sounds of wood hitting asphalt.

When the light cleared, Lady was mystified by the sight before her.

Standing guard over her was a short blonde in a gold-lined crimson dress with golden epaulets on the shoulders. Her frilly sleeves widened at the ends and the cut of her chest displayed a generous amount of cleavage.

"Are you sure that's appropriate battle attire?" asked Assassin. He was of course referring to the fact that her skirt was completely open in the front. Her underskirt did nothing to help the matter as it was completely transparent and showed her panties and metal greaves. In her right hand was a massive red blade.

"Were the circumstances different, I would educate you on why my fashion sense is truly exquisite! As it is, I must eliminate you for the sake of my Praetor. You won't lay another finger on her!"

Assassin flashed her a cocky smirk.

"We'll just have to see about that!" taunted Assassin before he held down the trigger of his crossbow. Lady may have been buffeted by a stream of crossbow bolts but the girl in the red dress was flooded with an ocean of the bolts.

"Look out!" warned Lady.

The woman's sword became a blur as she cut apart bolt after bolt with pinpoint precision. In less than thirty seconds, the remains of the projectiles lay on the street within a three foot radius of her person.

She arrogantly turned up her nose at Assassin.

"Well, I think I've proven my words were no empty threat," she taunted. "Now, what are you going to do?"

Assassin growled at the blonde upstart who dared to look down on him.

"This isn't over!" snarled Assassin before withdrawing something from his robes and smashing them on the ground before him. If the curtain of smoke was any indication, Assassin had covered his escape with the use of smoke bombs.

"Coward," she sneered.

A tired groan brought her attention back to the reason she was there in the first place.

"Praetor, are you alright?" she asked as she crouched down next to Lady.

"I think so," muttered Lady as she winced at the soreness of her limbs. "Just used a more magic than I'm used to. Now, who are you?"

The blonde's chest swelled with pride.

"I am Servant Class Saber and you are my Praetor. With me at your side our victory in the Holy Grail War is assured!" Ssber declared in a blatantly pompous tone.

"Servant? Master? I don't understand," said Lady.

Saber looked surprised at Lady's statement.

"Surely you-"

"-Lady, you okay?" Saber was cut off by the voice of an unidentified male.

Saber promptly jumped to her feet and quickly turned in the direction of the voice, her sword at the ready.

It was at that moment that Dante dashed around the corner, his new Servant in tow.

Saber's eyes widened at the sight of the red-clad demon hunter before she disappeared in a blur. When she reappeared, she was quickly darting around Dante and examining him with much interest.

"Oh my goodness! Where did you get your clothes? Who's your stylist? I simply must meet them! The bright red and the dark black contrast each other so perfectly! What is the material your jacket is made of? It's so tough yet so soft! I simply must know!" gushed Saber.

Dante regarded with his eyebrows raised nearly to the top of his skull. _'What's with this chick?'_ wondered Dante.

Caster spoke up as Saber continued to examine her subject of interest. "May I fight _this_ Servant, Master?"

Saber promptly jumped back at Caster's words, quickly putting distance between them.

"So you're a Master and Servant? In that case, I've no choice but to eliminate both of you, regardless of your excellent sense of style!"

Dante looked back at Caster. "Is this chick serious?" asked Dante. Caster merely shrugged her shoulders in response.

"Saber, stop!" Lady yelled as Saber raised her sword. "He's a friend!"

"Are you certain?" asked Saber. "You may have to face him one day regardless."

"I'm sure," she answered, her conviction seeping from every word.

"It is the wish of my Praetor that I back down, and so I shall obey." Saber then proceeded to lower her sword and backed up her statement as a result.

Dante and Caster followed Saber to Lady's slumped position against the wall. They could tell by the tension in her shoulders that she was ready to protect both herself and Lady at a moment's notice.

"You okay, Lady?" asked Dante.

Lady gave a tired nod. "Yeah, thanks to Saber."

Dante looked down at Lady's hands and saw a red tattoo, just as he expected he would. "So, you too, huh?" asked Dante as he held up his hand, displaying his Command Seals.

Lady looked at the seals with interest before looking down at her own hand and spotting similar markings.

"What are these?" Lady murmured.

"I'm not sure, all I know is that they're called Command Seals. Whatever that means."

Saber cleared her throat to garner their attention.

"Your Servant and I could fill you in on what we know but perhaps it would be best to let the Overseer fill you in. You'll need to see him anyway so you can officially register for the War."

"Where can we find this Overseer?" asked Dante as he helped Lady to her feet.

"Traditionally, they reside at the local church of where the War is meant to take place," she explained while glaring at Dante for daring to touch her master.

Dante and Lady shared a quick look.

"Show us."

Chapter End

 **Wow! I can't believe how quickly I got this done, getting from start to finish in just over two weeks. I got the idea for this crossover when I was watching Unlimited Blade Works on Netflix. I'm really quite happy with how this chapter turned out.**

 **A heads up, certain factors of the Nasuverse are going to be either tweaked or downright changed for the sake of the plot. So, be prepared for changes to already established knowledge for FSN.**

 **I slipped in a DBZ abridged reference for my fellow Team Four Star fans. It's not exactly subtle so odds are you found it immediately.**

 **Anyway, you know the drill. Did you see something you like? Something you didn't? Let me know and drop a review! Constructive criticism is welcomed but please, no flames.**

 **Anywho, see you next time.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Fate Stay/Night and Devil May Cry are the property of Kinoko Nasu & Type-Moon and Capcom & Ninja Theory respectively. The Dresden Files is owned by Jim Butcher and Roc Books. Please support the official releases.**

 **Also, I made some revisions to Chapter 1 and I recommend giving it another read.**

 **I hope you like action, because there's a lot of it in this chapter.**

"I guess we have a lot to talk about," Dante said as he grabbed another slice of pizza from the kitchen table where he sat with his house mates. Dante took a bite before thinking back to the previous night.

 _After battling against Ronin and Assassin, the newly formed group promptly departed for the nearby church. Having exhausted herself to the point of being unable to stand, Lady had to be carried by her newly acquired Servant, Saber._

 _They were at the church doors in less than ten minutes, largely thanks to the mapping application on Dante's phone._

 _As they stepped through the open, wrought-iron gate, Dante regarded the church with a sense of nostalgia._

 _One wouldn't guess it, but Dante had actually been a regular church goer in his youth._

 _Every Sunday his parents would take he and his brother to participate in the morning service. Vergil hated it, but Dante actually enjoyed spending time as a family, even if it was at somewhere as monotonous as a church._

 _After his family was torn asunder, Dante stopped going altogether. The only reason he enjoyed going to church was because he went with his family. With them gone, he didn't see the point in going anymore._

 _Dante pushed open the large wooden doors of the church. He had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at the loud creaking of the hinges. How cliché._

 _"Welcome to my church. My name is Kirei Kotomine and I've been expecting you," greeted a tall, severe looking man standing in the aisle. He was dressed in standard priest attire, the Bible held closely to his chest,_

 _Dante made a show of looking around before he plastered a fake frown on his face._

 _"I don't see any snacks or drinks. What kind of host are you?" Dante chided._

 _"I was only made aware of your arrival less than an hour ago," explained Kirei before he smirked. "Besides, it wouldn't exactly be fair for me to provide you refreshments when I didn't extend the courtesy to the other Servants and Masters."_

 _"So, you're the Moderator, then?" Lady asked from her resting position on a pew where Saber placed her shortly after they entered._

 _"You would be correct. Though I must say, I wasn't expecting to for the daughter of Kalina Ann and the son of Sparda to be chosen as Masters," Kirei remarked, his words containing no small amount of amusement. "With the two of you, that leaves only one contestant undecided. You will be contacted once the Grail chooses the final Master."_

 _Lady easily picked up on the undercurrent of smugness in his tone, but chose to stay silent. She didn't want to start a fight and prolong her wait to return home and rest._

 _Saber and Caster were more focused on what he had said rather than how he had said it. They had never heard of Kalina Ann or Sparda. Whoever they were, it sounded like they were of great importance. Perhaps they were famous magi. Caster and Saber made a mental note to question their Masters later._

 _Dante was unsurprised to hear his father's name, Sparda was essentially a household name in the world of the supernatural._

 _"Let's not beat around the bush. What is the Holy Grail War, what are the rules, and why should I give a damn?"_

 _Kirei let out a bone-chilling laugh at Dante's blunt and impolite statement._

 _"I'll answer your questions in order," said Kirei as he held up a finger. "The Holy Grail War is a battle between ten magi and the Servants they summon. The prize is the Holy Grail, an artifact capable of granting any wish, whether it be used for good or evil, depends entirely on who wins. If the winner were so inclined, they could wish for the death of all of humanity."_

 _"Hold up a second," interrupted Dante. "I'm not a Magus, so how the hell am I eligible?"_

 _"I apologize. I misspoke," Kirei said. Despite his apology, the priest didn't look particularly sorry. "The Masters need only possess magic circuits within their body, regardless of whether or not they have ever been used."_

 _Dante nodded in understanding. He had recently read about magic circuits in his mother's journal._

 _"Second," began Kirei as he held up a second finger. "The rules are simple. The last Master and Servant standing wins and gets to make a wish on the Holy Grail. If a Servant is eliminated, the Master isn't necessarily disqualified. So long as they have Command Seals, they can form a contract with another Masterless servant. Should the Master die, the Servant only has so long before they run out of mana and disappear. The same goes for if the Servant is dealt a mortal blow. Should someone not wish to participate, I can take their Command Seals and grant them sanctuary until the winner is decided."_

 _Dante grit his teeth. He was liking the sound of this War less and less._

 _"These Command Seals, what do they do?" Dante asked as he held up the hand that bore his Command Seals._

 _"Command Seals can over ride a Servant's free will and force them to follow an order whether they want to or not. You only have three uses before you run out."_

 _"Third," Kirei continued as if he hadn't just casually spoke of mass murder and robbing someone of their free will. "You should give a damn, because there is a two month time limit for a winner to be determined. You may go so far as to leave the country, but if no one wins within that time, the Grail will terminate all contestants, regardless of their location. After all, it wouldn't be fair if one were to run away and prolong the War by an unreasonable margin."_

 _KIrei walked forward until he was only a few feet away from Dante._

 _"Now, I ask you, do you wish to participate? Or shall I take your Command Seals?"_

 _Dante's lips tugged down and formed an uncharacteristic frown at the loaded question. With Dante's strong sense of justice, the choice was already made for him. If he didn't participate and win, it ran the risk of someone truly despicable getting their hands on the Grail. Dante would be damned if he put the future of humanity at risk._

 _Dante's frown turned into a cocky smirk. "Sounds like a party. Sign me up." Dante looked to Lady for her answer._

 _Lady gave Dante a weak grin. "I'm with you, Dante."_

 _"With all ten Servants summoned, I hereby declare the start of the Fifth Holy Grail War!"_

 _Dante returned the grin in earnest, happy to have Lady's support. "It looks like we're done here then," Dante said as they turned to leave. Just before they left, Kirei gave Dante a few parting words._

 _"Two more things. First of all, under no circumstances are mundanes allowed to learn of the War. Any who do are to be dealt with swiftly._

 _Kirei's words had Dante clenching his fists with enough strength to make his knuckles turn white._

 _"And second?" Dante asked._

 _Kirei's lips widened into a feral grin. "When the Devil becomes embroiled in magical affairs, demons are sure to follow him," warned Kirei._

 _His message was clear. Soon, demons would be following Dante to Fuyuki City._

 _"Then I guess the Devil will just have to remind them why he's on top of the food chain," Dante said._

 **Flashback End**

"Some things the priest said did raise a few questions, Master," said Caster.

"I must admit, I am quite curious myself," Saber agreed.

Lady straightened up in her seat next to Dante.

"We have some questions as well. Does a question for a question sound fair?" asked Lady.

The two Servants nodded in agreement.

"We'll go first," Lady said, her gaze focused on the two Servants. Dante paid rapt attention as he stuffed his face with pizza.

"When we first met, you referred to Servant classes. What did you mean by that?" Lady asked.

"A Servant Class refers to the specialty of a Heroic Spirit, summoned from the Throne of Heroes. It is there that copies of history's greatest heroes reside as they wait to be summoned by a magus," said Caster.

Saber then took the floor.

"There are ten different classes. They are: Assassin, Berserker, Caster, Saber, Lancer, Rider, Archer, Reaper, Ronin, and Brawler. I believe you've already met Assassin and Ronin." Saber took a sip of her tea. "The greatest weapon in the arsenal of a Servant is their Noble Phantasm, something tied to a Hero when they still lived; something famous. It is for that reason they are used as a last resort. To use a Noble Phantasm is to reveal your true identity as well as your fighting style and weaknesses as a result."

"So, what are your real names?" Dante asked as he nursed his Jack Daniels.

"I'm not telling you in front of her! She's our enemy!" Caster and Saber shouted as they pointed at each other.

"Cut that out, you two. We're all on the same side. If you don't want to say your name in front of the other, that's fine. Just stop with the hostility," Dante said.

The two Servants reluctantly ceased their glaring contest and looked away from one another.

Caster was first to regain her composure.

"I believe it's our turn. Now, who are Sparda and Kalina Ann?"

Dante leaned forward in his seat.

"On my end, I'm going to have to start by giving you a quick History lesson. A thousand years ago, there was a Devil by the name of Mundus. He waged war on humanity, seeing them as weak and inferior. In his eyes, they were ripe for the slaughter."

Dante took a sip of his beer.

"At his side during his evil campaign, was his right hand man and most trusted ally, Sparda. One day, he betrayed Mundus. He had seen the good in humanity and sealed him and the Demon World away. Roughly a thousand years later, he fell in love with a human named Eva. Soon after, she gave birth to my brother and I."

Caster and Saber were taken aback at the knowledge that the man seated across from them was half demon.

"You're a half-demon?" gasped Saber.

"Technically I'm half devil. Devils are like demons, except they're smarter, look more human, and are much, much more powerful than demons," corrected Dante.

"I believe it's now our turn to ask a question," Lady interjected. "What is the Reaper Class?" asked Lady before taking a sip of her lemonade. "Dante already fought Ronin, and the rest of the classes seem pretty self-explanatory. Reaper remains a mystery, however."

Caster and Saber's expressions darkened when they heard Reaper's name.

"Reaper, is by far, the most deplorable of the Servant Classes," spat Caster.

"The Reaper is brutal and merciless. It revels in the taking of lives and the spilling of blood. Every attack it makes is intended to leave a slew of bodies in its wake," said Saber.

Caster sneered. "The Reaper is nothing more than a glorified serial killer."

Saber nodded in agreement. "A most apt description. Of all the Servants, the Reaper is the one I would least want to encounter, let alone fight."

Dante whistled in amazement. "Sounds like a real piece of work."

"That's putting it mildly. Now, I believe we have one last question," Caster said as she looked to Saber for confirmation.

Saber gave a curt nod in reply. It seemed she still needed time to get accustomed to being allied with the "enemy."

"If I may be so bold, Praetor, who is Kalina Ann?"

Lady sighed in sadness, an action that didn't go unnoticed by Dante and Saber.

"Praetor, I'm sorry if it's too personal-"

"-No, its fine," Lady said before Dante gripped her shoulder in silent reassurance. The feeling of Dante's hand on her shoulder sent her heart racing. Lady gave Dante a small, thankful smile. Through sheer willpower, Lady managed to refrain from blushing.

"Kalina Ann was my mother," Lady said. "She was also a magus, an extremely talented one at that. Magi everywhere knew of her unparalleled mastery of elemental magicks. She's said to be the most powerful Elemental Magus in the last five hundred years." Lady looked down in sorrow. "She died two years ago," Lady sniffled.

Saber quickly ran over and gave her Master a tight hug, a gesture that Lady very much appreciated.

Even Caster had a look of sympathy, despite seeing Lady as a potential enemy somewhere down the road.

After nearly ten minutes, Lady had regained her solid grip on her emotions.

"Let's all sit back and relax while we have the option. We have a busy night ahead of us," Dante suggested.

"What do you mean?" Caster asked, giving voice to the confusion of all three women. "What are we doing tonight?"

Dante gave his trademark smirk. "Tonight, we go hunting."

After several hours of R&R, it was finally nightfall.

The group of four gathered on the lawn.

Dante, Caster, and Saber were clad in their typical attire whereas Lady had made some alterations for the evening.

She was now clad in a black blouse, acid-washed jeans, steel-toed boots and fingerless leather gloves.

Draped over her outfit and falling nearly to her feet was a brown leather duster.

It was a gift from a friend of her mother's.

Several hours later, night had fallen and they found themselves scouring the city for any Servant or demon-related activity.

Dante and Caster took to the skies on a skeletal bird she had summoned with her magic. She started to preen unashamedly when Dante called her magic "impressive."

Lady and Saber stuck to land as they swept the streets on Lady's motorcycle.

It was nearly midnight and they had come up with nothing.

'Looks like tonight was a bust,' Dante thought as he and Caster scanned the city below them. As they searched Dante was taken in by the sight of the brightly lit city.

"I think it's about time we call it a night, Caster," Dante said as he felt a mix of frustration and determination at their lack of results.

"Master, I've got eyes on two possible targets! Five miles straight ahead, two suspects are battling at inhuman speeds!" Caster shouted as she pointed at a small section of the city.

"How the hell are you able to see that far?" Dante yelled in amazement.

Caster puffed out her chest in pride.

"I'm not the Caster-Class Servant for nothing Master. When I was alive, I was known far and wide as one of the most powerful and skilled Sorceresses to ever walk the planet. Doing something like Reinforcing my eyes is as easy as breathing," Caster explained as her eyes glowed with an intense lavender light as she steadily pumped mana into them.

"That's incredible!" Dante complimented, impressed by her apparent mastery of the Arcane. Her explanation also served to stoke his curiosity about her identity.

Caster was visibly preening as she was praised by her Master.

With her magical abilities having typically evoked fear in others, it filled her with great joy to be complimented on her skills in magic.

Dante pulled a two-way radio from his jacket pocket. The small device was half of a pair that he and Lady would frequently use on missions.

"Lady, we've got eyes on two possible targets. Follow Caster's beacon and meet up," Dante ordered before he nodded at his Servant.

She got the message as she raised her hand up high and bathed it in a bright purple light. The light was so intense that it could be seen from the ground nearly two hundred feet below.

"I read you loud and clear," confirmed Lady.

Caster and Dante picked up the pace and rocketed after their targets.

Less than a mile shy of closing in on their target, Dante and Caster had yet to see hide nor hair of Lady and Saber.

Starting to worry, Dante spoke into his radio. "Lady, where are you? Is something wrong?"

After several moments of nerve-wracking silence, Lady's voiced traveled through the radio.

"I'm not sure if I would classify it as something wrong. Saber just told me that she sensed another Servant and Master nearby. We're going to engage them," announced Lady. "Will you two be fine on your own?"

Dante scoffed. "Come on, give me a little bit of credit. This is me you're talking to," Dante grinned before his voice took on a more serious tone. "Be careful. If you get in over your head, call it in and we'll be there to help."

It was Lady's turn to scoff in indignation.

"How's about you try giving me some credit. We'll see you in a bit. Over and out."

In a matter of seconds, the airborne duo had zeroed in on their targets.

Dante smiled in excitement as he swapped out Rebellion for a purple guitar with the base ending in a razor-sharp, scythed blade. The unusual guitar was the Devil Arm manifestation of Nevan the Lightning Witch, a demon he had defeated just months earlier.

"Alright Caster, you ready for your first rock show?" Dante asked before strings of purple lightning took form along the neck of the guitar.

With a smirk on his face, Dante played a riff on Nevan, filling the night air with the screech of an electric guitar.

Mighty bolts of violet lightning rained down from the sky in sync with Dante's playing.

The two fighters on the ground below were forced to separate, lest they be turned into charred husks.

"I'll fight them on the ground, you support me from the skies," Dante commanded once the riff had come to a swift end.

"As you wish, Master." Had Dante not filled her in on the full extent of his abilities just hours earlier, she never would have dreamed of following that order.

Still, she obeyed.

Dante leapt of his skeletal mount and plummeted to the earth below before landing lightly on his feet.

"Is this a private party, or can anyone join?" Dante asked as he warily looked over the two Servants.

One of them was clearly male in gender, with wavy red hair and a sinister black mask hiding his face. The entirety of his body was swathed in a black cloak. Resting in his hand was a pitch black scythe.(1)

His opponent was a blonde woman in an elegant blue dress. Shining silver armor covered her arms, torso, hands, legs, and feet. Resting in one of her hands was a steel short sword.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you it's rude to interrupt?" the masked red head asked.

Dante gave a lazy shrug. "I've been told plenty of times. But, if I were to listen to you, it would be unfair to all the other people I've callously ignored," he snarked.

"Such a crass and rude attitude. Who are you, newcomer?" the blonde asked.

"The name's Dante, but you can call me anything you want, babe," Dante flirted, his trademark cocky grin plastered on his face.

She gave Dante a look of disdain, clearly unimpressed by his flirting attempts.

"Despite your appalling behavior, it is only proper that I introduce myself. I am Lancer," said the blonde. "This masked hooligan is Rider."

"If you two are done with the formalities, I would appreciate it if we could get back to fighting. Leave or die, it's your choice, magus," Rider growled.

Dante removed Nevan from it's resting place on his shoulder.

"Your hospitality could use a bit of work," taunted Dante.

How's about I teach you a lesson? Dante offered as he wreaked havoc on the strings and summoned a swarm of blood-thirsty bats.

"Bon appetit, boys," cheered Dante as he unleashed the bats upon his two opponents.

They promptly charged the two servants, obscuring their sight with their sheer numbers. The bats were short-lived as they erupted into a red mist as Rider and Lancer decimated the flying mammals with their weapons. When their vision was clear once more, they were caught off guard by the sight of Dante standing between them, Nevan shifted into the form of a scythe.

Rider felt the air leave his lungs as the end of the shaft was firmly planted in his gut, sending him crashing through the display window of a nearby store.

Not missing a beat, Dante pivoted and swept Nevan in an upward strike in an attempt to drive the blade home in Lancer's throat.

Lancer quickly batted away the strike with her blade.

Lancer attempted to impale Dante on her sword, only for Dante to quickly twist away from the strike and counter with a back hand to the face with enough force to shatter a six-inch thick slab of concrete.

As it was, Dante's strike merely sent her staggering back.

Taking advantage of her unbalanced state, Dante slashed at Lancer's midsection. To his surprise, she had oriented herself just enough to lean away from the blow.

Rather than slicing her in two like he intended, Dante carved a large gash through her armor and delivered a long, shallow cut to her abdomen.

Dante made to renew his assault but was cut off by a loud crash and enraged scream coming from behind him.

Dante turned just in time to see Rider rocketing out of the storefront and towards him with his scythe raised high.

Rider's charge was swiftly interrupted as he was forced to retreat from a giant purple beam of pure mana that impacted the ground with force of a cannon ball, courtesy of Caster.

Dante had still made the mistake of turning his back on his opponent and paid for it when his back was sliced open by Lancer's sword.

Dante rolled forward just in time to avoid being gored by his opponent. It was a close call, the blade managing to snag the material of the coat and damage it further.

Once he was on his feet, Dante spun around and slammed Nevan's blade into the ground.

He could feel his hair stand on end as lightning coursed through Nevan before tearing through the asphalt on a direct course for Lancer.

The blonde Servant took to the air, poised to skewer him.

Dante sidestepped the strike and caught the sword before it could bury itself in the asphalt.

Dante smirked before slamming her into the ground using the blade that she stubbornly refused to release from her firm grip.

Dante brought Nevan crashing down in attempt to end the battle with a decisive blow.

Lance quickly rolled away from the strike before getting back on her feet.

She gave Nevan a look of appraisal. "Your weapon is quite interesting. I never thought I'd see a guitar that could turn into a scythe."

Dante smirked. "You'll find that I'm full of surprises," said Dante as he dismissed Nevan and brought out Agni and Rudra. "I gotta say, I'm surprised to see the Lancer class use a sword as her weapon-of-choice."

"Haven't you ever picked up a book? Lancers carry a side weapon. Lances are hardly fit for use as melee weapons."

Dante gave her a mocking bow. "Thanks for the history lesson, professor," said Dante before charging Lancer.

He slashed at Lancer's side with Agni's fiery blade while attempting to decapitate her with Rudra. Lancer ducked under Rudra and parried Agni away with her sword.

Taking advantage of Dante's open guard, Lancer sent a lightning-fast flurry of punches into Dante's sternum.

Dante could clearly hear the sounds of his ribs repeatedly breaking only to be fully healed moments later.

Lancer capped off her assault with a snap kick to the gut that sent Dante skidding back several yards, his feet digging trenches into the asphalt.

Once he'd come to a stop, Dante drove Agni and Rudra into the ground before him, earning a confused look from Lancer.

Lancer's expression quickly shifted to one of alarm as the scimitars generated a carpet of raging fire and sent it soaring in her direction.

The resulting inferno engulfed Lancer and blew out the windows of the store behind her.

Dante cautiously eyed the flames, a strong feeling in his gut that it would take more than that to do her in.

His gut proved correct when Lancer came soaring out of the flames, the skirt of her dress all but disintegrated by the flames.

Lancer cried out as she rapidly struck out at Dante with her sword. A look of rage began to blossom on her face as he dodged and parried her every attack, his face never losing its smug grin.

With a strangled cry of aggravation, she broke through Dante's guard with a mighty swing of her short sword, carving through Dante from his left shoulder to his right hip.

Rather than cry out in agony, Dante let loose a laugh of exhilaration.

"This is what I'm talking about!" Dante crowed before hitting Lancer with a fierce uppercut that launched her into the air.

Dante followed suit before promptly laying into her with slash after slash from Agni and Rudra.

With a final dual slash from his blades, Dante sent Lancer crashing into the ground with a fierce gale of wind on her trail.

Dante whistled in amazement at the sight before him.

"Caster told me Servants were tough, but seeing it for myself is another thing entirely," Dante commented as he watched Lancer slowly rise to her feet.

Her armor was in ruin, reduced to little more than scrap metal, the dress underneath not faring much better. Her body was littered with bloody slash wounds, some of which were messily cauterized by Agni's flames.

"By all accounts, you should be knocking on Death's Door after losing so much blood," Dante said as he gestured towards the pool of blood at her feet, the growth of which was slowly decreasing as a result of the Servant's superior healing abilities.

Dante couldn't help but noticed that they healed much slower than Ronin's wounds, though that may just be due to her injuries being far more severe.

"No magus should be this powerful!. What the devil are you?" she yelled.

Dante gave her a condescending smirk.

"You just said it yourself. I'm the Devil!"

Lancer raised her lance in an offensive stance. "Whether you be a devil or a human, I know one thing for certain. I must eliminate you to protect my Master and come one step closer to winning this war!" she snarled.

"Show me what you got, babe!" Dante taunted as he rocketed towards Lancer.

When Dante re-engaged Lancer, he quickly noticed a distinct difference in how she fought. Her every strike, her every movement, they were vastly more powerful and more swift than before.

Dante now found himself having to put in considerable more effort to keep up with her.

"Where'd this strength come from?" Dante asked as he struggled to repel her assault, taking several solid blows as a result.

Dante's torso was now littered with a lattice-work of quickly healing cuts and his jacket was shredded in multiple areas.

"I've simply stopped underestimating you. It was a mistake to do so and it won't be happening again!" Lancer shouted as she snaked her way through his guard and slammed her fist into Dante's neck, sending him crashing into the ground.

Dante winced at the feeling of his neck breaking as the vertebrae were smashed to pieces. He might be able to heal from nearly every conceivable wound, but that shit still hurts.

Dante sighed in relief as he felt his neck repair itself.

Dante found himself needing to block a stab to the heart as he parried Lancer's assault with Rudra. He pointed the twin scimitars at Lancer, a wicked grin on his face.

"Burn!"

With Dante's declaration, a veritable firestorm erupted from the blades of Agni and Rudra, sending her flying as she was engulfed in the inferno.

Dante rose to his feet.

"Don't tell me that's all you got," Dante said.

He quickly rose Agni and Rudra in an x-formation just in time to save himself from losing a lung.

Lancer wasn't deterred and quickly launched a flurry of stabs at Dante.

Dante found himself hard pressed to dodge the assault, taking several glancing blows as a result.

Dante jumped back several yards in a bid to get some breathing room.

'So, this is what a Servant can do at full strength' Dante thought as he felt his blood boil in excitement. He had hoped to receive a challenge tonight and his hopes had come true.

On a similar note, Dante found himself wondering how Caster fared in her fight. Eh, if Caster ended up in over her head, he'd step in and assist her.

 **Earlier, with Caster**

Caster watched on with interest as her Master engaged the two Servants. She was surprised by the sight of him summoning bats with his odd weapon. She covered her ears at the horrible screech that accompanied the bats' summoning.

She found it fascinating when he appeared between the Servants faster than she could see only to proceed to attack them with practiced ease.

Caster was forced to take action when Rider attempted to kill her Master while his back was turned.

With a look of rage on her face, Caster called out her spell.

 ** _"Kodan'u!"_** she yelled as she instantaneously charged and released her mana in the form of a radiant violet beam.

It was one of her own personal spells, Rain of Light, a bombardment of magic beams, each with the strength of an A-Rank spell. Rain of Light could be considered as being on the level of High Thaumaturgy, with just one beam taking a considerable amount of mana to cast.

For the sake of reserving mana, she would have to settle for a single beam.

Caster found herself pleasantly surprised when the beam came out more than five times the intended size.

It seemed her Master possessed a ludicrously large mana reserve for her to draw on.

Caster grinned. This would prove useful.

Caster pursued Rider, not willing to risk him launching another surprise attack on her Master and possibly succeed in killing him.

In the heat of the moment, she had forgotten Dante's explanation of his rather frightening capabilities.

'It's barely been more than a day and I'm already disobeying an order from my Master. I'm not off to a very good start,' Caster thought.

When she had caught up to Rider, she found herself at a construction site only half-a-block away from her Master's battle.

 ** _"Celaeno!"_** Caster chanted before shooting a stream of lightning from her fingertips.

To her dismay, Rider dodged her attack, leaving her lightning to scorch the earth.

Rider retaliated by swinging his scythe in her direction and launching razor sharp bursts of wind pressure as a result.

Caster banked to the right in an effort to avoid being shredded by his attack.

She succeeded in escaping injury, but not without consequence.

While she was unscathed, her aerial mount wasn't so fortunate.

The skeletal bird found itself one wing short, its left wing sheared off by the razor winds.

Caster was forced to abandon her mount and witness it plummet to the ground and break apart on impact.

Caster scowled at the loss of her familiar. Mr. Tweetums would be avenged.

She steadily levitated to the ground using her levitation and touched down just yards away from where her opponent stood waiting.

She regarded Rider with a frown as she clenched her fists tight in anger.

"You're going to pay for that!" Caster growled.

Rider tilted his head in mock confusion. "Don't tell me you're upset that I killed your pet," Rider chuckled. "You should be thanking me. Birds are such a hassle to look after."

Caster glowered at him with smoldering fury. "In that case, I'm sure your Master wouldn't mind if I put you down. After all, rodents are so bothersome to look after," sneered Caster.

Rider chuckled at her taunt. "Well, aren't you a smarmy one? Let's see if you still give me cheek when I carve you apart like a turkey!" Rider yelled as he sprinted towards Caster with his scythe raised high.

The earth around Caster quickly began to break apart, radiant purple light spewing from the cracks.

"Rise!" she chanted before the skeletal remains of several dozen wolves exploded from the earth.

"Tear him to shreds!" Caster ordered , unleashing her familiars upon her opponent.

With great eagerness, the wolves charged Rider as they barked and howled in excitement. Rider cackled as he met their advance head on.

With a vicious swing of his scythe, he reduced several of them to little more than a pile of bones.

Rider grabbed a lunging wolf by the head before crushing it's skull in his hand.

Rider danced through the mass of wolves, hacking and slashing them to bits, all while filling the air with peals of demented laughter.

Less than a minute later he had disposed of the wolves and now stood in the center of a miniature boneyard.

"Surely you can do better than that, Caster!" he growled with a voice reminiscent of a knife scraping against stone.

When he turned to face her, he was mildly surprised by her absence from her previous position. He scanned his surroundings in search of Caster with no success.

Rider let out a sardonic chuckle.

"How typical of the Caster class, going into hiding as soon as their opponent has their back turned."

"You call my actions cowardly but I prefer to think of it as me playing to my strengths. After all, I'm no match against you in a direct confrontation," Caster said, her voice seeming to come from nowhere and everywhere at the same time.

The moment the last syllable left Caster's lips, Rider found himself forced to leap away from a hail of ru-bar. The ru-bar was left to bury itself in the ground.

Rider was unprepared when the ru-bar detonated and sent jagged pieces of shrapnel flying in every direction.

He managed to evade the brunt of the assault but wasn't left unscathed.

The wounded Servant peeled back his cloak and looked at his bleeding side with disdain.

"You want to play games? So be it," Rider growled before he sent sickles of air pressure at several of the steel girders that upheld the building's frame.

The girders were no match for the absurdly sharp bursts of air and were sliced through like they were made of tissue paper.

The building's frame groaned in protest at the loss of several of its supporting pillars.

"I'll bring this entire construction site down on the both of us if necessary! Now, come out!" Rider yelled.

"Have it your way," Caster sighed as she stepped out from behind one of the pillars. "You really need to work on that attitude of yours."

"And you should work on that smart mouth of yours," he sneered before he kicked off the ground and rocketed towards Caster.

"You'll have plenty of time to do so in Hell!" Rider screamed.

With a rapid slash of his scythe, Caster was bisected at the waist.

Any satisfaction Rider may have felt, quickly gave way to fury when Caster's corpse faded away as if it were a mirage.

Rider's attention was quickly drawn by the sight of Caster's cloak flying through the air like it had a mind of its own.

"What the-"

Rider was unable to finish his statement as he was forced to dodge a bolt of purple lightning originating from the confines of the cloak.

 _'She's inside the cloak!'_

Caster refused to relent in her assault, continuously casting lightning spells with a few fireballs added to the mix.

Rider grit his teeth over being able to do little more than dodge.

He skid to a stop and stood his ground, his gaze focused on an incoming fireball. Rider would undoubtedly be in great pain once the fireball hit. But, if his plan worked, it didn't matter.

Rider roared as he frantically slashed his scythe and sent dozens of air sickles flying through the air.

Caster was forced to weave through the attacks lest she be cut to ribbons. The steel girders were left to take her punishment in her place.

Rider was unable to see the end result as his world was bathed in fire. Rider let out an inhuman screech of pain at the searing pain of his roasting flesh.

Even through his screams he could hear the metal framework falling to pieces.

Rider wasn't sure if he endured his fiery hell for five hours or only five seconds. The agony of being burned alive overshadowed his perception of time.

However long it was, he was grateful when it finally came to a close.

Rider hissed in pain at the feeling of the cool night air caressing his charred flesh.

Regardless, it was still less painful than being roasted alive.

Rider began to shake in a mixture of pain and fury as he laid eyes on his handiwork.

Steel girders littered the construction site, having been severed from their brethren by Rider's attack.

That was not the cause of his ire, however.

Rider seethed when he saw that not a single girder had Caster trapped beneath their weight.

Rider felt moisture begin to seep into the cracks of his charred skin as the construction sight was enveloped in a dense fog.

"I tire of this game of hide-and-seek!" Rider snarled.

He received an answer in the form of construction equipment rocketing towards him.

Due to the density of the fog, he was only able to dodge the speeding projectiles by the skin of his teeth. There was a particularly close call when he just managed to avoid having his skull impaled by a piece of ru-bar.

Rider raised his scythe high above his head before he proceeded to rapidly spin it in his hands.

The scythe quickly picked up speed, as it started to generate powerful winds after a few short moments.

The winds picked up enough force and speed to blow away the fog in a matter of seconds.

Rider cackled as he spotted Caster speeding towards him with an oddly-shaped dagger in her hand.

Her charge was cut short as Rider slashed her from shoulder to hip with his scythe.

Caster screamed in pain before collapsing in a heap as her dagger dissipated into blue motes of light. Her blood had already started to seep through the dirt.

It didn't matter that Dante's large mana reserves had already started to heal her wound.

She would be dead in just a few moments.

Caster clenched her eyes shut when she felt Rider use his foot to roughly flip her onto her back. She didn't want to see the scythe plunge into her body.

"Do you have any idea how painful it is to be lit on fire?" Rider growled. "I suppose you're about to get a pretty good idea," he cackled.

Clenched eyes shot open as Caster cried out in agony at the sensation of Rider's scythe being dragged across her body, the wicked blade carving grooves in her flesh.

"Scream for me!" Rider hissed. He felt himself tremble with glee as he slowly gave Caster a mirror image of her earlier wound.

"No one can save you. Your Master is most likely dead at the hands of Lancer. He was foolish to think he could take on a Servant by himself," he sneered.

As if on cue, a razor sharp, jagged wall of ice sprouted along the ground in an effort to eviscerate Rider.

Caster's torturer was left with no choice but to dodge.

Enraged, Rider look towards the originating direction of the sneak attack and was surprised by the last thing he expected to see.

Standing guard over Caster, with tripartite nunchaku in his grasp, was Dante.

Rider found it absurd.

He was just a Master, a Magus! Even a Magus at the height of their powers would be hard-pressed to put up a fight against a Servant.

Yet, if Rider's eyes were to be believed, this Magus had done far more than that.

If his presence were any indication, it would seem that he had actually emerged victorious over Lancer.

"Stay away from Caster!"

 **Moments earlier with Dante**

The fight between Lancer and Dante had escalated since Lancer stopped holding back.

Large chunks of the street were gouged out by stray sword strikes, the two combatants not faring much better.

Their clothes were in tatters. Dante's coat looked like a dozen lions had used it as a scratching post. It all but hung off his frame, large sections of it dotted the blood soaked ground.

Lancer wasn't any better. Her dress had been put through the wringer with her reduced to little more than her underwear.

"What do you say we finish this?" Dante asked as he removed Rebellion from his shoulder.

"So be it," panted Lancer, knowing full well that her death was imminent. She could barely stand, forced to lean on her sword to stay upright.

"I'll make it quick," Dante. promised. He couldn't help but feel a heavydose of trepidation over what he was about to do.

He knew that he wouldn't really be killing her, he'd just be sending her back to the Throne of Heroes.

Dante strode over to Lancer as he dragged Rebellion's blade across the asphalt.

"I'm not going down without a fight!" Lancer declared as she stumbled her way towards Dante.

"You've got spirit. It's too bad, under other circumstances I bet we would have been friends," lamented Dante.

Lancer said nothing as she stood on shaky legs with her sword raised.

Dante looked her in the eyes as he swung Rebellion.

She deserved at least that much.

Rebellion came within a hairsbreadth of Lancer's throat, only to come to a sudden stop when he heard Caster scream in pain.

Dante removed Rebellion from Lancer's throat.

"I guess we'll have to finish this another time. My Servant needs my help." Dante said.

Dante turned to leave as he switched out Rebellion for his very first Devil Arm: Cerberus, the Ice-Summoning tripartite nunchaku.

Dante dashed away and left Lancer speechless at her unexpected survival.

Running at top speed, Dante reached the source of Caster's screams within the span of a few seconds.

Dante was enraged at the sight of Rider systematically torturing Caster.

He may not know her well, but she was his comrade. That was all the reason he needed to be angry.

Dante slammed Cerberus against the ground and summoned a razor sharp wave of ice.

He sighed in relief when he saw Rider leap away from Caster.

Dante leapt in front of her before leveling a glare at Rider.

"Stay away from Caster!" Dante growled.

Rider cocked his head to the side as he regarded Dante with no small amount of intrigue.

"Well, this is a surprise. I honestly expected Lancer to dispose of you quickly. But instead it seems that you eliminated Lancer. How curious," Rider mused.

"What can I say? I'm full of surprises," Dante said as he echoed his earlier words to Lancer.

Dante decided not to correct Rider about Lancer being dead.

If Rider were to discover she still lived, he would most likely swoop in and dispose of her while she's weakened.

Dante, as a man of honor, would not allow that to happen.

"Are you okay, Caster?" murmured Dante.

Caster managed to give a weak nod in response. "I will be. I'm sorry I failed you, Master," apologized Caster.

"Don't worry about it. Just let me take it from here. Dante shifted his focus back to Rider. "Let's see if I can't go two-for-two tonight!" he taunted as he threw Cerberus at Rider like it was a giant shuriken.

Rider lazily sidestepped Cerberus only to be surprised when blades of ice extended from each nunchaku.

Rider cried out as the ice blades sliced deep into his side.

Cerberus promptly reversed direction and returned to Dante's hands in a manner reminiscent of a boomerang.

"Don't start thinking you're hot shit just because you caught me off guard!" growled Rider. "You are just a Magus! You are my inferior! You. Are. NOTHING compared to me!" Rider bellowed.

Dante sneered. "You talk too much. Coming from me, that's saying something,"

With a beastly roar of unbridled rage, Rider jet towards Dante, furious that he had been wounded by a lowly Magus.

Dante was prepared as he caught the scythe blade in the ring that held Cerberus together.

With a twitch of his wrists, Dante jerked the scythe to the side and caught Rider off balance.

Dante removed Cerberus from the scythe blade and capitalized on Rider's moment of weakness. He delivered a lightning-fast combo with Cerberus and subsequently coated each point-of-contact with a layer of ice.

It only got worse for Rider as the ice shifted and plunged icy needles through his flesh.

Rider's screams became strangled as Dante struck him in the throat with a haymaker and sent him crashing through multiple support pillars.

Dante was disappointed by Rider's performance thus far.

He wouldn't dispute that Rider was powerful. Considering his status as a Servant, that was pretty much a given.

But his strength was offset by his uncontrollable rage.

It made him sloppy and unfocused.

"I'm disappointed! Lancer was a much better challenge! I'm amazed that she didn't kill you right off the bat!" Dante jeered.

That was the straw that broke the camel's back.

In an impressive explosion of pink mana, Rider freed himself from the debris.

"THAT IS IT! I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU! WHEN YOU GET TO HELL, TELL THEM RIDER SENT YOU!" Rider screamed as a magic circle materialized before him.

Dante watched with intrigue as a beast clambered out of its depths.

First came the head, then the hooves, then the rest of its body.

Dante stared in awe at a creature that he had long thought to be nothing more than a fairy tale.

Standing tall, with its head held high, was a white pegasus.

"Holy shit!" Dante swore.

Caster wasn't quite as captivated by the beast.

'Master, get out of there! It's his Noble Phantasm!"

Dante cursed once more as he ran to Caster in hopes to get them both to safety.

"It's too late, Magus!" Rider cackled as he leapt atop the pegasus, and forced a golden set of reins upon it. **_"BELLEROPHON!"_**

The pegasus took flight and charged at Caster and Dante. The beast quickly became engulfed in a white light as it picked up speed.

All out of time and options, Dante did the only thing he could do. Dante huddled over Caster and shielded her with his body.

The construction site was engulfed in a bright light as Rider's Noble Phantasm decimated the area.

When the light had faded, construction more closely resembled a nuke testing site.

The only indication that it may may have once been a construction site were a few loose girders that had managed to survive the blast.

Everything else was a shallow crater.

Laying within the crater were Dante and Caster.

Caster looked herself over with blurry eyes and marveled that she had managed to survive with only few second degree burns.

Caster gasped when she saw the state of her Master.

He had taken the brunt of the damage, his entire torso drenched in his own blood.

She could see large pieces shrapnel from the destroyed construction equipment piercing through his back and out of his chest.

Caster grew teary-eyed at what, in her mind, was the direct result of her own weakness.

"Master, no! Please don't die!" Caster cried.

"Who said anything about dying?" Dante chuckled.

Caster watched in awe as Dante steadily rose to his feet while he removed the shrapnel from his body.

When Dante turned to face Rider, Caster's breath caught in her throat.

There was next to no skin on Dante's back. Instead, it was a mess of muscle and bone prominently displayed for any and all to see.

Much to Caster's morbid fascination, Dante's wounds began to heal at a rapid rate. She bore witness as muscles reconnected and skin regenerate. The gaping holes left behind by the removed shrapnel quickly closed over and left unmarred flesh in their place.

Dante looked back at his Servant before he murmured words that only they could hear.

Caster raised herself to a sitting position and nodded her understanding.

"What are you?" Rider screamed.

Dante shot him a cocky smirk before he faded from his line of sight.

His eyes widened in surprise when Dante blurred into existence directly in front of him.

 _'So fast!'_ Rider thought.

Rider doubled over as Dante drove his fist into his gut. It took all of his self-control to refrain from losing the contents of his stomach.

Dante struck the ground with Cerberus and channeled its icy power into the scorched earth. A small pillar of ice shot out of the ground and struck Rider in the chin with enough force to send him airborne.

Dante pursued him into the air and grabbed him by the collar of what was left of his cloak.

Rider was assaulted by blow after blow from Cerberus. Like earlier, every impact left behind a patch of jagged ice that steadily creeped over his body.

In a moment of desperation, Rider tried to weather the assault by blocking with his arm, only for the appendage to meet the same fate as the rest of his body.

After a particularly heavy blow to the chest, Rider entered a coughing fit as a small stream of blood seeped out from behind his mask.

With an angry shout, Dante slammed all three sections of Cerberus into Rider's gut and sent him rocketing into the ground.

Rider groaned in pain as he rose from his own personal crater.

With a tired grunt, Rider drove his scythe blade home into Dante's chest and straight through his heart.

A silver set of gauntlets and greaves materialized over Dante's limbs in a silvery light.

They were Beowulf, one of the only remaining traces of the demon of the same name.

Dante struck Rider in the ribs with his gauntleted fist.

He winced at the sound of Rider's ribs shattering under the force of the blow.

The blood leaking out of the confines of Rider's mask increased in volume,likely as a result of his organs being puncture by pieces of his ribs.

Dante stomped on Rider's foot and followed up with a solid hook to the face.

The inhuman power behind the blow sent Rider's battered body crashing along the ground.

"I was honestly expecting more from you, but you're so consumed by rage and bloodlust, it makes you sloppy and little better than an overpowered amateur," sighed Dante. I suppose it's about time we finish this, but first…" Dante trailed off as he snapped his fingers.

For a moment, it seemed like time stopped in a manner eerily reminiscent of Dante's Quicksilver technique. There was no sound and no movement other than the labored breathing of those in the construction site.

Silence gave way to screams over agony as the ice encasing Rider' arm closed like a cigar cutter. Rider desperately attempted to stem the flow of blood gushing from the stump that was once his right arm. Now, everything below the elbow lay limp on the ground, save for the occasional twitch of the fingers.

The nerves In his arm hadn't quite died out yet.

Dante wasn't normally one to be sadistic to his enemies, but Rider had pissed him off.

Dante didn't take well to his friends/allies being tortured.

It was a surefire way to set him off.

Dante lazily walked back to Caster. After he'd closed the distance Dante spoke.

"As promised, he's all yours."

Caster gave Dante an appreciative nod before she struggled back to her feet.

Caster's eyes gave an eery purple glow as she raised her arm to the sky.

The air above them slightly distorted, as if Fuyuki City had been struck by a heat wave.

The distortions quickly faded and were replaced by a dozen magic circles, each of roughly twice the size of a hubcap.

 ** _"Caeno!"_** cried Caster as she cast "Rain of Light" for the second time that evening.

Rider screamed as he was bombarded by the overwhelming power of her spell.

Despite not being a Noble Phantasm, the "Rain of Light" managed to hit with half the destructive power of Rider's **_"Bellerophon."_**

When the dust and debris cleared, Rider was nowhere to be seen. All that remained was a smoldering crater.

"Did you get him?" asked Dante.

Caster hesitated before answering.

"I don't sense him anymore, so I think so."

Dante gave a sigh of relief.

"That's good to hear. That guy was a dick!" said Dante.

Caster couldn't help herself and laughed at her Master's statement.

"I suppose that's a rather fitting description," she giggled.

Dante gave her a moment to sober up from her jovial state.

"I guess all that's left is to catch up with Lady and Saber," said Dante. "Would you care to do the honors?"

Caster smiled before she summoned a skeletal mount similar to Mr. Tweetums.

Dante stooped to pick up his shotgun, Ebony, and Ivory from their places on the ground, the coat that holstered them now nothing but a memory.

Good thing he had copies.

After collecting his guns, Dante joined Caster on the mount.

"Let's blow this joint before the cops show up," said Dante. He could already hear their sirens in the distance.

"As you wish, Master," agreed Caster.

With a silent command to her mount, Master and Servant soared into the night sky.

 **With Lady and Saber**

Lady and Saber had spent the last several minutes scouring the streets from atop Lady's motorcycle. Fortunately, Heroic Spirits possessed the innate ability to sense the Command Seals of nearby Masters. This allowed Saber to act as a compass, her senses doing an excellent job of tracking down he unknown Servant and Master.

Their search had led them to the older sections of Fuyuki City where the housing primarily consisted of refurbished remnants of the Feudal Era.

"How much farther?" yelled Lady. The roar of the engine left Lady counting her blessings that Saber was able to hear her words.

"Just take this next left!" shouted a green-faced Saber.

 _'Man was not meant to move this quickly!'_ she thought to herself.

Saber nearly kissed ground in sweet relief when the motorcycle came to a screeching halt at the steps of a modest, single-story residence.

Saber swallowed the bile that had risen in her throat as she got off of the motorcycle.

Lady was much more composed as she removed herself from the vehicle with a grace that ignored the cumbersome weight of Kalina Ann and her staff slung across her back. She removed the dual CZ-75 handguns as she looked over their quarries.

One was a muscular man with tanned skin and spiky white hair. He was dressed in black leather armor and a red overcoat.

 _'Dante should really see about copyrighting his style,'_ she thought. This made two different men in as many nights that closely emulated Dante's wardrobe.

His companion was a teenage girl in a blouse and skirt with her black hair in pig tails.

It didn't take a genius to figure out who was who.

"So, you're the ones who have been tailing us. I must say, that bike of yours doesn't offer much in the way of stealth," said the man, his cold voice filled with mirth.

"I've never been one to ambush to my enemies," said Lady.

"That was foolish. You should take every opportunity to get the upper hand," the girl chided in a haughty tone that was so thick that Lady wouldn't have needed her translation spell to tell.

It really got on Lady's nerves.

Saber gave the girl a questioning look.

"Then why didn't you set up an ambush for us?" asked Saber.

The girl grew flustered at Saber's question.

"That's besides the point!" argued the girl in an obvious attempt to avoid the question.

Her companion quirked an eyebrow and looked at her in curiosity.

"She raises a valid point, Master. I'm curious as well."

"You're not helping, Archer," she grit out through clenched teeth.

Archer smirked in amusement at her angered state.

"If I wanted to see a bratty kid argue with her wise ass boyfriend, I would've stayed home and watched TV," Lady growled.

"I see you're not one to beat around the bush. I like that," she complimented. "Very well, let's get to it. Archer, attack," ordered the girl.

Archer's hands were enveloped in a hazy green glow as twin swords materialized within his hands.

One blade was black with a hexagonal pattern and the other was white with a clouded finish to the grey metal.

Side by side, the blades embodied the very concept of Yin and Yang.

"As you command," said Archer before he charged towards Lady, intent on cutting her down.

His efforts were thwarted when Saber met his charge with her crimson blade: Aestus Estus.

Sparks danced in the air as steel grated against steel.

Saber forcefully shoved against Archer's blade with her own. The additional force sent him off balance and staggering back.

With Archer's guard down, Saber took the opportunity to slash at Archer's stomach with Aestus Estus.

Archer leant back with his momentum and backflipped out of the reach of Saber's blade.

After landing, Archer kicked off the ground and darted towards Saber, his blades poised to eviscerate.

Saber brought her sword around and into a parry, only to meet empty air. Archer had sidestepped at the last second and attempted to behead her with his black blade.

Saber ducked and brought Archer down with a well-placed leg sweep.

Archer went into a handstand and halted his fall. A loud boom rang through the night as Archer trapped Aestus Estus between his feet mid-swing.

He could feel his muscles burn in protest with his efforts to halt the blade's advance. Archer winced in pain as he wrenched his aching legs to the side and yanked Saber off balance.

Saber quickly regained her footing and brought up her sword in a sloppy attempt to parry Archer's cross-slash.

She was partially successful as she batted away one of the blades, but earned a small nick on the arm from the other sword.

Saber retaliated with a heavy, two-handed horizontal slash that Archer barely managed to repel with his twin blades.

While he was able to block the attack itself, there was no way of mitigating the force behind it. As it was, the force of the swing sent him skidding back several feet.

He uncrossed his swords and shifted into a lazy stance that was filled with openings.

"Is that all? How boring," Archer taunted in a smug tone.

Not one to take an insult lying down, Saber ran at Archer.

She thrust Aestus Estus at his side, in one of his stance's many openings.

Archer batted away the strike with his white sword and attempted to slash her throat with his black blade, only to be blocked.

Saber narrowed her eyes in suspicion before attempting to exploit his hole-ridden stance.

Saber made to bisect him at the waist. She was thwarted when her target leapt on top of the blade and attempted to kick her in the temple.

Saber swung her sword like a bat and forced Archer to vacate his perch.

He landed lightly on his feet and reassumed his earlier stance.

"So I was right," Saber remarked as she took note of the nearby gunshots. "You leave openings in your guard so you can counter-attack at the last possible second. Some might say it's the stance of a man with a death wish."

Archer let out a humorless chuckle. "People can say what they want. It suits my needs well enough," Archer said as he tightened his grip on his swords.

Saber lightly bent her legs and raised her sword in a ready position.

"If you have a death wish, I'll be happy to grant it!" Saber declared.

She went on the attack and assaulted Archer with a lightning quick flurry of sword strikes.

Archer met her blow for blow and managed to avoid injury by the skin of his teeth time and time again.

After an absurdly long string of close calls, Saber was able to break the pattern and nick Archer in the side with her blade.

Archer hissed in pain but continued to fight.

He managed to trap the tip of Aestus Estus between his two blades before he slammed his foot into Saber's stomach.

The air left Saber's lungs as she flew backwards several feet.

Saber managed to correct herself and land daintily on her feet.

 _'At this rate, I'll have no choice but to use it'_ thought Saber.

She honed in on the connection born of the contract formed between Master and Servant and traced the invisible thread connecting her to Lady.

She followed the thread to the very end where it originated from Lady's sizable mana reserves.

She tapped into that well of power and siphoned off a small amount for her own use. Saber could feel her body hum in excitement as her very being was filled with the sampling of Lady's power.

One could dress it up any way they like, but the connection between a Master and Servant was parasitic in nature. Servants required mana to maintain their connection to the mortal plain. No more mana means no more Servant.

The Magus would be further sapped of their mana as a means to heal any non-fatal wounds sustained by their Servants and, should the Servant desire it, augment their fighting ability.

Saber glared at Archer before she disappeared from his line of sight.

"Where did she-" Archer was unable to finish articulating his thought as he was forced to dodge an incoming strike from Saber.

Unable to compensate for her boost in speed, Archer sustained a light gash in his side.

Archer cursed as he was forced to take a purely defensive approach to the fight. Said defense was substandard at best as he sustained minor injuries despite his efforts.

Archer growled and filled his being with his Master's mana.

Two could play that game.

No longer was Archer forced to defend as he was once again able to match his opponent blow for blow.

The night became rife with the sound of air being rapidly displaced by their empowered strikes.

Saber scowled over losing her momentary disadvantage as the playing field was even once more.

She unleashed a rapid flurry of slashes upon Archer only to have her every strike blocked or countered.

Saber's mouth opened in an angry yell as she brought her sword down in an overhead blow.

Aestus Estus cratered the road as her target leapt out of range.

 _'It seems I've no choice,'_ Saber thought as she channeled mana into the sigils that had been placed on her sword the previous night.

Lady had written several symbols on the blade that pertained to her own particular brand of magic. The symbols she used, when placed upon an object, essentially turned that object into a sponge for kinetic energy. With the objects every movement, it would absorb the kinetic energy generated and store it away for later use. While typically expelled in one go, it was possible to use that energy in small bursts.

With the exceptional force and speed behind her every swing in her fight against Archer, she had stored a considerable amount of energy into Aestus Estus.

Unfortunately, the effects of the spell would be weakened as the sigils would typically be carved into an object rather than written.

Lady would have had an easier time carving them into diamond than she would a Noble Phantasm.

Saber became a blur as she bolted towards Archer, her sword wreathed in a purple light.

Archer was barely able to bring his swords up to block in time.

His eyes widened in surprise as he flew with the force of a cannon and smashed into the concrete wall surrounding a nearby backyard.

'It seems I'm left with no choice' Archer thought as he scowled at having to reveal his trump card so early.

 ** _"Trace On."_**

At his command, nearly two dozen swords materialized in their with their blades pointed firmly at Saber.

With a flick of Archer's wrist, Saber was forced to dodge, duck, and block as she advanced upon Archer.

Once she closed the distance, Saber saw that Archer had disappeared from where he was embedded in the wall.

He had used the confusion of his attack to make himself scarce.

Saber's eyes darted around the street, in search of her adversary.

'He's not to the left or right, and he's not behind me. That means he must be-' Saber was forced to abandon her train of thought when she brought up Aestus Estus to block Archer's aerial assault.

The dual blades slammed into her own with unforgiving force strong enough to create a burst of wind. Mixed with the kinetic enhancements of her blade, the resulting collision formed a heavy crater in the street and broke the bulbs of several streetlights.

Archer disengaged and used Aestus Estus as a platform to leap back from Saber.

She felt a small satisfaction when she saw that Archer no longer had that cold smirk on his face.

 _'I guess that's one small victory for me,'_ Saber thought before she reengaged.

 **With Lady and Rin**

"I guess that just leaves you and me," Lady said as she felt a small sense of relief that she would be facing the Master instead of the Servant.

"How unfortunate for you," she said as she fished a steel plate out of her backpack. "I wouldn't want our battles to draw any attention. She placed the steel plate adjacent to a garden wall and channeled a small amount of mana into it.

"It's my own personal, portable bounded field. It was a pain to make but I think the results were worth it. Now we don't have to worry about any civilians noticing our battle,"

Lady whistled in appreciation. "That's some impressive work for someone so young." Lady regarded her with a flat stare.

"If you would be so kind, I'd like to know who it is I'm fighting tonight," Lady said.

The raven-haired girl swept back one of her ponytails and gave Lady a haughty look.

"I don't know how you do it where you're from, but in Japan it's proper manners to give your name before asking someone for theirs," she lectured.

"You can call me Lady,"

The teenage girl's eye started to twitch in irritation.

"That's not a name! Who would ever name their daughter Lady?" she ranted.

Lady just gave her a cheeky smile in response.

The black-haired girl took a deep, calming breath before she shakily exhaled.

"Fine, be that way. My name is Rin Tohsaka and I'm afraid that you have to die tonight," Rin said.

"You can try, little girl," Lady taunted before she opened fire with her twin handguns.

At the same time, Rin had brought up her hand, a mouse-sized ruby clenched in her fist. The ruby slowly began to crack as it released energy in the form of a small force field.

The bullets were left to impact harmlessly against the shield and clatter to the ground.

Lady was admittedly impressed. The amount of energy required to block bullets was far from inconsiderable.

Granted, she was channeling mana into the runes on her guns that reduced the velocity and piercing ability of the bullets by increasing the level of resistance they faced when exiting the barrel of the gun.

Lady wasn't about to murder a teenage girl in cold blood.

Lady holstered her guns and withdrew her staff from her back.

She slammed the tip of her staff into the grand and uttered her first spell of the night.

 ** _"Geodas!"_** Lady empowered the chant with her Will and mana with the desired results.

The ground below Rin quickly started to collapse on itself as a sinkhole was formed.

A frantic Rin was barely able to jump back in time to avoid being swallowed by the earth.

Lady wasted no time in taking advantage of Rin's distraction and chanted her next spell.

 ** _"Fuego!"_** Lady uttered as a fireball the size of a softball shot out of the tip of her staff and sped into the open sinkhole.

"Ha! You missed!" Rin jeered.

A sly smirk quickly formed on Lady's face. "No, I didn't." As soon as the last syllable left her mouth, fire erupted from the sinkhole. Lady's fire spell had ignited the gases that had built up in the sewers beneath them.

Lady cast a quick glance at the several sewer vents located parallel to the sidewalk.

Luckily for them, they provided enough ventilation that the build up of gases in the sewer had lessened to a great degree,.

Otherwise, the explosion would have been much larger.

As it was, a sizable chunk of the street behind the sink hole had been obliterated.

Lady frowned as she realized she had lost sight of Rin in the smoke.

 _'Where did she go?'_ Lady thought.

Her question was answered in the form of Rin leaping high in the air, a mana-soaked gem clutched in her hand. Rin was unscathed for the most part, bearing only minor burns on her legs and a slightly singed skirt.

Lady silently noted the glowing, greenish circuit board patterns on her legs, a sure fire sign of Reinforcement magic. It was likely how she had escaped the blast.

Rin hurled the gem at Lady.

Lady's eyes widened at the tangible pool of mana infused into the jewel. The wealth of mana wreathed the jewel I the form of a blue shroud.

 ** _"Defendarius!"_** Lady chanted before she surrounded herself with a sphere-shaped shield of blue energy.

Lady could only hope it was strong enough to weather the blast.

The jewel collided with Lady's shield and promptly detonated.

As luck would have it, her shield wasn't strong enough.

It stood fast for a couple of seconds before it buckled underneath the might of the jewel's explosive power.

Lady was temporarily blinded by the ensuing flash of light and was catapulted several yards away.

She grunted as she hit the ground and grimaced at the feel and sound of her ribs cracking. Lady shakily rose to her feet while she used her staff to steady herself.

Lady's eyes widened in surprise when she noticed Rin dashing madly in her direction, her arm outstretched with her hand making a crude imitation of a gun. A black and red ball of mana coalesced upon the tip of her index finger.

Her hand may have been shaped like a pistol, but it had the firing rate of an automatic rifle as she cranked out several "bullets" like she was some sort of human assembly line.

Lady thrust out her free hand, the tarnished medallion of St. Mary hanging from her wrist.

She channeled mana and her very will into the small piece of metal.

The pentacle engraved on the back shined brightly as it produced a transparent and almost invisible barrier.

Lady sucked her teeth in a slight bout of anxiety. What she was doing was incredibly stupid and she knew it.

The odds of her being able to withstand such an attack without sustaining some form of damage were incredibly slim.

But it was her best shot at the moment.

She grimaced when the first shot rammed into her shield.

By design, her shield was meant to evenly spread the force of any attack so as to reduce the risk of the shield being punctured.

Nonetheless, the force of the blow was still there.

Lady was sent skidding back as she withstood the barrage of magical bullets.

Several times, Lady felt afraid that she would lose her footing as she steadily felt herself lose her purchase in the ground.

Lady thanked whatever higher power existed when the rapid fire assault came to an end and dispersed her shield.

She counted her blessings too soon. Soon after the bullets stopped, Lady felt her ears ring when she was punched in the cheek with no small amount of force.

She spiraled to the ground while her head reeled from the power behind the strike. Through her ringing ears, she faintly registered the sound of her wizard's staff clattering to the ground.

The groggy magus managed to roll to the side in the nick of time and avoided having her skull stomped.

Lady muttered a minor spell to clear her head before she jumped backwards and onto her feet.

Her hand was hidden by her coat pockets before they were just as quickly removed, a pair of items clutched in her fist.

The items were revealed to be a chrome-tinted set of brass knuckles. Lady slipped them on and rose her fists in a boxer's stance.

The older magus tested the waters and threw a tentative jab at Rin's face.

Rin tilted her head and retaliated with a palm to the ribs. Lady leaned away and successfully landed a right hand hook to the jaw.

Rin countered with a palm strike to Lady's shoulder.

Lady's duster came to the rescue, the enchantments placed upon the coat protected her from the blow. Without it, her shoulder joint would have been smashed to pieces.

 _'Great, she's using Reinforcement to augment her blows,'_ Lady thought.

Lady ducked under a punch to the face and assaulted Rin with multiple jabs to the stomach.

Lady felt guilt well up within her when she heard the sound of the teenage girl's ribs cracking.

Lady let out a surprised yelp when she was roughly tugged by the hair. But that was nothing compared to having a fist slam into the bridge of her nose.

Lady shouted at the sensation of the cartilage being broken by Rin's fist.

Lady's lips were quickly wetted by the blood that trickled out of her nose.

She hooked her arm around Rin's thigh and tugged.

Rin was unable to stop herself from landing on her back after being pulled off balance.

However, she was able to roll away from the boot that was quickly descending upon her face.

Rin returned the favor by taking Lady's legs out from under her with a well-placed leg sweep.

Lady exhibited a remarkable degree of dexterity as she shifted her fall into a backflip, making sure the toe of her boot made contact with Rin's chin.

Rin snarled and rained a flurry of blows upon Lady.

Lady was hard-pressed to defend, Rin's blows bolstered by a burning fury that hadn't been present earlier.

Lady blocked and defended what she could and counter attacked when a window of opportunity presented itself.

After nearly a minute, the two combatants were left haggard and beaten.

Rin was left to bear the pain of three broken ribs, a split lip, and a broken left arm.

Lady was also injured, her internal organs undoubtedly sustaining heavy bruising. Her mobility was compromised, her ankle heavily fractured.

Lady took the chance to snap her nose back in place and snorted out the blood that had built up in her nasal passages.

"You're good," Lady panted.

"You're not so bad yourself for an old lady," Rin huffed with fatigue.

"You cheeky brat. I think it's time you got put down for a nap," Lady quipped before unholstering her CZ-75 handgun. She took careful aim at Rin's forehead and sent a strong channel of mana into the gun, enough to reduce the bullet's speed to hit her with just enough force to knock her out.

Lady let out a shaky breath and prepared to pull the trigger.

She hesitated upon hearing the sound of an unfamiliar shout.

"Tohsaka!"

Lady chanced a look and saw that the culprit was a teenage boy with amber eyes and short red hair.

"Get away from her!" he growled, failing miserably to intimidate Lady in the slightest.

"Shirou, you idiot! Get out of here!" Rin yelled.

Shirou shook his head in protest. "We're in an alliance, remember? That means I'm not just going to leave you here to die!"

Lady's eyes widened at his words, just now registering what her actions might look like from someone else's viewpoint.

"Kid, I'm not going to-" Lady was prevented from completing her explanation as a shining, green summoning circle came to life in the middle of the street.

A familiar crowd of high-pitched, maniacal laughter hit Lady's ears.

 _'What? They're showing up now of all times!'_ Lady thought.

She confirmed what she already knew when a mob of grotesque creatures materialized in the summoning circle that took up half of the street.

There were macabre marionettes with blades for limbs, and floating shrouds of darkness that wielded red scythes. To top it all off, there were several hooded creatures in ratty brown cloaks.

"Demons!" Lady snarled.

Rin paled at Lady's statement.

"Archer, get us out of here!" Rin commanded.

Archer heeded her call and collected both her and a protesting Shirou, before he bounded off.

"We'll have to settle this another time!" Archer yelled at Saber, who had chosen that moment to reappear next to Lady.

"I shall be the victor, I assure you!" Saber declared.

He gave no indication he had heard her challenge, Saber's words possibly drowned out by Shirou's shouts.

"We can't just leave them!" Shirou yelled off in the distance.

"It seems it's just you and me until Dante and Caster get here," Lady said as she took in Saber's less than stellar state of dress. "You look like crap."

While crude, Lady's statement hit the mark.

In her fight with Archer, she had accrued several injuries, her dress having taken a great deal of damage as well. The sleeves to Saber's dress were reduced to tatters with her skirt ripped in several places.

"Why, I never!" Saber gasped. "Even upon emerging from the battlefield, I still look glorious!"

Lady rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say. You up for one more fight?" Lady asked, knowing full well what Saber's answer would be.

"But of course Praetor!" Saber declared.

Saber raised her sword, the work of steel held steadily in her strong grip.

Lady stowed her brass knuckles away in her coat and slung Kalina Ann off her back.

The marionettes clumsily charged, some of their limbs sloppily grinding against the asphalt.

Lady aimed down the sights and pulled the trigger. With a loud 'whoosh' the rocket streaked out of the barrel. The marionettes didn't even have time to scream as they were blasted into bits and pieces.

Saber wasn't about to let Lady have all the fun.

Saber attacked a cluster of hooded demons; Hell Prides, and weaved between every swing of their scythes. She quickly disposed of them with fluid swings of her blade.

She couldn't stop herself from smirking at how weak they were.

Clearly they weren't as strong as they were creepy.

Too bad.

Aestus Estus cleaved through the air and sent a condensed beam of magic at one of the flying specters. It was unprepared, able to do nothing but give a garbled screech before a bloody mass fell from the confines of the cloak.

It looked like a cross between a tumor and a demonic scorpion.

The demon flailed weakly before growing still.

Saber regarded the monstrosity with disgust. Demons were truly abominable creatures.

Saber jumped back into the fray, hacking and slashing at any demon that was unfortunate enough to get in her way.

Lady was doing an admirable job of fending off the demon horde.

Any demons she didn't kill from afar with Kalina Ann, she butchered with the kukri machete that had been strapped to her leg.

Lady scowled as she drove her machete through the skull of a Hell Pride before she decapitated three of its brethren.

A Hell Pride that was much smaller than the others, had snuck past her guard and slammed the blade of its scythe in Lady's back.

The leather duster did its job and saved her from agonizing impalement. Instead, the strike was converted into blunt force and knocked her to the ground.

Lady scrambled into a sitting position and locked eyes with the small demon. Without thinking twice, she drove her foot into its skull, removing the aged and decayed skull from the demon's shoulder.

Lady staggered to her feet as her body finally registered the ache and fatigue from her fight with Rin.

Rin may have been young, but Lady wouldn't deny that she was an exceptionally skilled Magus.

"Saber, stand next to me!" Lady commanded.

Saber disengaged from the demons she was fighting and took her place by Lady's side. "If you have something planned, I suggest you do it fast!" Saber yelled.

Lady analyzed her surroundings, checking her odds of success. Satisfied, Lady closed her eyes and slowed her breathing.

With a level of familiarity that only years of experience could breed, Lady released the flood gates of the mental dam that held back her magic. She would need all of it for what she was about to do.

Her eyes snapped open, the two orbs overtaken by cold, blue glow.

 ** _"Infriga forzare!"_** Lady intoned.

The effects of the spell became immediately noticeable as the already chilly night air dropped to freezing temperatures. With every exhale, Saber could see her breath become visible in an icy mist.

It only grew colder, the streets, the asphalt, and even the streetlights were swiftly encroached upon by ice. In a matter of seconds, they were frozen solid.

They weren't alone in their fate, the demons reduced to the world's most unholy ice cubes.

Lady smiled at her work, happy that her plan had succeeded.

She was unable to bask in that feeling as darkness began to overtake her vision.

The last thing she heard before falling unconscious was the sound of Dante calling her name.

 **Well, that does it for chapter 2 of A Not So Holy Grail War!**

 **Sorry for the wait, but as you can see it was much longer than the first.**

 **Anyhow, I hope you all liked the chapter.**

 **Did you see something you liked? Something you didn't?**

 **Let me know in the reviews. Constructive criticism is welcomed.**

 **(1) I gave Rider his scythe from the mobile game. The pictures on the wiki looked pretty lame.**

 **I love you all,**

 **Sayonara!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Fate Stay/Night and Devil May Cry are the property of Kinoko Nasu & Type-Moon and Capcom & Ninja Theory respectively. The Dresden Files is owned by Jim Butcher and Roc Books. Please support the official releases.**

 **Before we start the chapter, let's answer some reviews.**

 **Lancelot Du Loc: Maybe it's not Ezio. :O**

 **Treyalexander63917: In the game, Fate/Grand Order, Arturia Pendragon can be summoned as a Lancer class Servant. That's who I'm using as Shirou's Servant.**

 **Symbolic Joker: Thank you for pointing that out. I went back and fixed that.**

 **Suzululu4moe: That's an excellent idea. I just might use it. Archer didn't notice the addition to Aestus Estus with his analysis ability because it wasn't actually part of the sword. It was just drawn on. If they had been engraved, that would be a different story. Hope that clears that up.**

 **YuukiAsuna-Chan: While not my intent, I'm glad I could make you laugh. Also, you're right about what I said about Lady's mom. I went back and amended that.**

 **Now, without further ado, I give you Chapter Three of A Not So Holy Grail War!**

" _Who lives in a pineapple-"_

 _"It seems today-"_

"Five hundred channels and nothing good's on," Dante grumbled as he sat on the couch, sipping a soda while channel surfing the TV he had installed the day after their first battle with other Servants.

It had been just under two days since their encounters with Rider, Lancer, and Archer.

Things had been quiet, not seeing hide nor hair of any Servants or demons in that time.

"Perhaps you should try giving the channels more than a second's glance, Master," Caster said, lounging comfortably on the large couch while she took discrete glances at Dante's bare upper body.

Dante gave a noncommittal grunt while he continued to flip the channels. He had made it through almost thirty more channels before he came to a stop.

Displayed on the screen was a young blonde reporter standing in front of the construction site that Rider and Caster had demolished.

"It's been two days since the construction site of a new hospital was decimated. The police have determined the attack took place late Tuesday night. The method and motivations behind the attack are still unknown."

"Congratulations, Dante. You guys blew up a hospital," Lady drawled from her spot at the kitchen table, bare feet propped upon the piece of furniture and her wounds fully healed.

After recuperating from being completely drained of mana, it took only a couple of healing spells to repair her broken nose and fractured ankle.

Dante rolled his eyes at Lady's remark. "First of all, get your feet off the table. We eat there. Second, it was Caster's and Rider's fault."

"Rider did most of it," Caster mumbled her head ducked and her shoulders slumped.

Saber, who was hovering next to her Master, chose that moment to speak up. "It's disgraceful. If I had been the one to fight him, there'd be hardly a scratch upon the structure. You just lack grace and finesse."

Caster grit her teeth at Saber's jab over her performance.

"Well, at least _we_ actually managed to defeat our opponent," Caster growled.

Saber glared at Caster. "Well, my Praetor wasn't a bloodied mess by the time the night was through."

Dante noticed Caster's face briefly droop with regret before melting into an expression of anger.

Caster shot up out of her seat and whirled around to face Saber.

She fixed Saber with a glare of such heat and intensity, Dante was surprised Saber's face wasn't melting.

"You want a piece of me, bitch?" Caster yelled.

"You'll be _in pieces_ by the time I'm finished with you, whelp," Saber sneered.

"Both of you, cool it!" Lady and Dante commanded.

The two Servants reluctantly complied with their orders, forced to settle on glaring daggers at each other.

"We're supposed to be a team. This team can't function if we're at each other's throats," Dante lectured.

Saber scoffed. "Since when are we a team? This is an alliance of convenience, nothing more," Saber said before withdrawing upstairs.

"I'll talk to her," Lady sighed. Once both women were upstairs, Dante looked at Caster with concern.

"What she said is really bothering you, isn't it?"

Caster's drooping posture and bowed head was all the answer Dante needed.

"Don't listen to her, she doesn't know what she's talking about."

"But she's right!" Caster protested. "It's my job to protect you!"

Dante sighed. "So, you made a mistake. It happens to the best of us. All we can do is move forward and learn from it." Dante paused and adopted a thoughtful expression. After a moment he silently nodded to himself as if he had reached a decision.

"Can you use that magic of yours to change your outfit?" Dante asked.

Caster frowned in confusion. "Yes. Why do you ask?"

Dante flashed her his trademark grin. "Change into something warm, I'll be right back."

Before Caster could inquire further, Dante had already left the room.

Caster took a deep breath as her body became wreathed in a concealing purple haze. When the haze had lifted, she had changed clothes.

Instead of her purple robes, she now wore a red flannel long sleeved shirt, skinny jeans, and a heavy pair of boots. A fuzzy red scarf decorated with the images of several Cocker Spaniels was securely wrapped around her neck. She was now well equipped for the cold weather that was typical of late October.

Caster waited patiently on the couch for her Master to return.

She didn't have to wait long as Dante returned just under three minutes later. When he re-entered the room, she was surprised by what she saw.

Over the last three days, Caster had grown accustomed to seeing him in the same outfit: his red coat and black jeans. Now however, Dante had given himself a slight makeover.

Instead of his black jeans, he wore red leather pants with two black belts fastened around his right thigh, a leather belt, black gloves, and high, black boots.

His coat bore a loose resemblance to the coat with which she was familiar. Like its predecessor, it was red in color, albeit a more simplistic design, with an upturned collar and short sleeves with black cuffs.

Underneath, was a black, long sleeved shirt with a red vest securely fastened by black metal clasps.

Hanging from his neck was his half of the Perfect Amulet, the ruby shining brightly.

"What do you think? I've had this for a few days and I hadn't gotten a chance to wear it yet," Dante said, his hands behind his back and his head held high.

Caster failed to string together a coherent sentence as she gazed at her Master, an atomic red blush on her face.

Dante smirked at her expression.

"If you're going to undress me with your eyes, at least wait until I'm not looking," Dante teased.

Caster shook her head in denial. "I was not! I was just admiring your outfit. It looks very nice on you," Caster said.

Dante gave her a look of skepticism but went along with Caster's lie.

"You don't look too bad, yourself."

As much as I love your outfit, do you mind telling me why we're all dressed up?" Caster asked.

Dante smirked. "The two of us can't exactly go out for a day on the town without dressing warm."

'A day on the town? Just the two of us?' Caster's face began to heat up at the implications of Dante's statement.

"Why are we going out on the town?"

Dante's lips upturned in a smile filled with warmth. "What better way to cheer you up than a day of fun? What do you say?"

Deeply touched by the sentiment, Caster mirrored Dante's expression.

Caster and Dante exited the house and mounted Dante's recently purchased Harley before taking off.

Had they waited a couple of seconds they would have seen Lady and Saber come down the stairs.

"Dante? Caster? Where'd they go?" Lady wondered aloud.

"Maybe they went on a date?" Saber suggested.

Lady stiffly turned her head and made eye contact with Saber.

Saber was scared by what she saw.

In the place of Lady's warm and welcoming eyes, were orbs filled with fire and brimstone.

"What was that?" Lady asked with a sickly sweet smile.

Saber recoiled in an uncharacteristic moment of fright.

"Nothing, Praetor," Saber said. She could feel herself starting to sweat under the heat of her Praetor's gaze.

"Where are we going?" Caster shouted from her seat behind Dante, the wind tearing at her hair.

I figured lunch would be a good start!" Dante yelled. "I know just the place!"

A few minutes later, Caster and Dante were seated at a corner table in a local bar & diner.

"What is this place?" Caster asked as she studied her surroundings.

The diner had a 1950's motif, old records and black-and-white photographs lined the walls. The wooden tables and linoleum floor were both decorated with a white and red checker pattern.

The bar was made of a dark, polished wood.

Several men were seated at the bar, drinking beer while they watched a horse race on the wall-mounted television.

Aside from them, the diner was occupied by a modest handful of customers.

Dante lazily perused the menu. "I found this place on the way back from picking up my bike. It's supposed to have the best burgers in the city."

Caster's face scrunched up in confusion. "What's a burger?" she asked, nearly making Dante drop his menu in shock.

"First you say you've never heard of pizza and now you're saying you've never had a burger? Wherever it is you're from sounds horrible," The first time she ate at the house, Caster had quickly expressed her confusion when she was presented with a box of pizza. Dante nearly had an aneurysm when she said she had never heard of it.

"Yeah, it was," Caster murmured, sadness overtaking her features.

Noticing her shift in mood, Dante quickly changed the subject.

"So, it's been a couple of days since we met. Why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself?" Dante suggested.

Caster's shoulders sagged in relief at the change of topic.

She put her index finger to her lips and adopted a thoughtful expression.

"Well, I grew up rich, my father being an important political figure in the city. My only friends were our servants. All the other children were scared of me because I was learning magic from my father."

"Kids can be cruel. The kids at the orphanage used to make fun of me for having white hair."

Caster raised an eyebrow in intrigue. "You grew up in an orphanage? Did you not have any other family to take you in?"

Caster asked.

Dante chuckled, the normally jolly action devoid of any warmth or humor. "My mom's family didn't exactly approve of her relationship with my old man. When they found out she gave birth to 'demon-spawn' they only grew further apart. I'm surprised my mom wasn't disowned. It's just as well, they died a year after my mom," Dante said.

"You said you had a brother. Where was he in all this?" she asked.

"Gone," Dante said in a tone that heavily indicated he didn't want to talk about it.

Caster silently regarded him for several moments. Just as he was about to question her actions, Caster elected to speak.

"Would you be offended if I said I kind of regret I asked?"

Dante let out a bark of laughter. "Not really. I took you out to cheer you up, not tell you depressing stories."

Caster's shoulders sagged in relief. Upsetting her Master would have been a poor way to repay him for their outing.

"So, what brought you to Japan?" Caster asked.

Dante leaned back in his seat and briefly looked up from his menu. "My mom's lawyer finally tracked me down and gave me my inheritance. Now I've got a nice house, my mom's personal journal, and more money than I know what to do with." Dante said.

"I imagine that was quite a surprise," Caster said.

"Not as surprising as finding out my mother was a magus," Dante snorted.

Caster's eyes widened in surprise. "You didn't know your own mother was versed in mage craft? Am I to understand that you've never received instruction in the magical arts?" Caster asked, eliciting a nod of confirmation from her Master.

"Fascinating!" Caster breathed.

Dante set his menu on the table before shooting Caster a look of confusion.

"What's so fascinating about it?"

Caster locked eyes with Dante.

What's fascinating is that your magical circuits, through which a magus channels their mana, are extraordinarily powerful, especially considering that they've never been used."

"How do you know that?"

"The Master-Servant bond allows me to draw from your magical circuits to bolster my abilities. I used a spell last night that was nearly five times more powerful than normal. Imagine how strong it would have been if I had actively drawn from your reserves. Simply put, your magical circuits contain an ocean of power, just waiting for you to tap into it!" Caster gushed, nearly hyperventilating in excitement.

Dante smiled in amusement at Caster's enthusiasm. "Why Caster, could this be your way of saying you want to teach me how to use mage craft?" Dante asked in a blatantly false tone of surprise.

"if you want me to," Caster smiled.

"Sign me up," Dante grinned. "But, in exchange, you have to let me teach you how to use a sword."

Caster mulled it over for a moment before nodding in agreement. "You have a deal, Master."

Shortly after, their booth was visited by one of the waitresses.

She was a slip of a girl, even by Japanese standards, barely standing at five feet tall. Her ebony tresses were pulled back in a tight ponytail and her pouty pink lips pulled tight to form a warm, inviting smile. Dante might have been captivated by said smile were it not for the fact that she looked like she was still in high school.

The name "Hitomi" was neatly stamped upon her name tag.

Hitomi promptly took their orders, two burgers with fries. Dante found himself disappointed when he learned they didn't serve strawberry sundaes for dessert.

Caster and Dante continued to familiarize themselves with one another, sharing their hobbies, dreams, and personal tastes as they waited on their lunch.

They didn't have to wait long as their food was served less than fifteen minutes later.

Their conversation slowed as they ate their burgers. When they were finished and Dante had paid, Dante made for the door, Caster hot on his heels.

Just as Dante's gloved hand made contact with the door, his attention was drawn by the distressed cries of a young woman.

He turned around and saw the three young men that had been sitting at the bar were harassing the waitress, Hitomi.

"Please, stop!" Hitomi begged as they started getting handsy. The bartender attempted to defuse the situation only to recoil in fear when one of the aggressors pulled a knife on him.

"I believe the lady asked you to stop," Dante said.

The man with the knife, dressed in a ratty hoody and ripped jeans leveled a glare at Dante. "Mind your own business before I cut out your tongue," he threatened, his words slightly slurred by the copious amounts of alcohol in his system. Even from ten feet away, Dante easily picked up on the heavy stench of cheap booze on his breath.

Dante slowly sauntered over to Hitomi and the men harassing her.

"When a bunch of pervs start sexually harassing a woman, I make it my business," Dante drawled as he gazed upon the three men with boredom. Dante's expression shifted as he narrowed his eyes and looked upon them with contempt. "I'm giving you one chance. Walk. Away."

"And if we don't?" asked one of the drunks.

"Then there's a good chance you three won't be leaving here with all of your teeth," Dante threatened.

The three drunks shared a look before simultaneously shooting out of their seats.

"I figured as much," Dante muttered under his breath.

The drunk with the knife, a young man in a ratty hoodie and ripped jeans, was the first to attack.

With a heavily telegraphed swing, he attempted to show everyone in the diner what Dante's intestines looked like.

The red-clad Devil Hunter lazily caught the offending appendage by the wrist. With a slight application of pressure (at least by Dante's standards) the drunk's wrist snapped like a twig that had been trampled by an elephant.

He yowled with pain as the nerves were set aflame by the sensation of bone snapping.

Maintaining his grip on his wrist, Dante's fist shot into the drunk's throat, making his screams of pain turn into painful gagging sounds.

His world went topsy-turvy before his head hit the ground with a loud thud, compliments of a leg sweep from Dante.

One of his companions, dressed in a flannel shirt and jeans, yelled with rage at the sight of his friend getting his clock cleaned.

The man in flannel snagged his empty bottle of beer from the bar before he promptly swung it at Dante's head.

Upon making contact with his skull, the bottle shattered into countless pieces, eliciting a bored stare from Dante.

Dante's foot swiftly staked its claim on his attacker's floating rib, sending him on an express flight into the wall, creating a large impression in the wooden surface.

The man in flannel's eyes rolled back into his head the moment he made contact with the wall.

Seeing his friends get taken out with no effort on Dante' part left him trembling in fear, looking like he was on the verge of wetting himself. His ill-fitting tracksuit resembled a flag as his shaking form ruffled the fabric.

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you," Dante said.

"R-Really?" he asked, a look of hope plastered on his face.

"Of course not. Her on the other hand…" Dante trailed off as he pointed behind the man in the tracksuit.

Momentary confusion gave way to all-encompassing pain as a shapely leg was slammed right between his legs.

He squeaked in pain and clutched his junk before falling to the ground with a soft thud.

"Nice kick," Dante complimented.

"Thanks," Hitomi mumbled in slight embarrassment at his praise.

Dante fished several slips of currency out of his wallet and slapped half of them on the bar.

"This should cover the damages." Dante then turned to Hitomi.

"Here's a little addition to your tip. Don't spend it all in one place," Dante teased.

"I can't take this! It's too much!" Hitomi protested.

Dante waved off her protests. "Think of it as compensation for the entertainment. It's not every day you get to see five foot girl bring someone down with a kick to the balls."

Hitomi's face flickered with uncertainty, as she hesitantly accepted the money. "Thank you for saving me."

"No biggy. You might wanna look into getting yourself a taser, though."

After receiving another round of thank you's from Hitomi, and even one from the bartender, Dante and Caster left the diner.

Dante and Caster seated themselves on the Harley. Caster tightly wrapped her arms around Dante's midsection, knowing what would come next.

True to form, the motorcycle raced off, its powerful engine roaring through the streets.

Caster yelped in surprise at their abrupt acceleration.

An extremely powerful sorceress she may be, but knowing serious injury was just a slight miscalculation away still unnerved her.

Granted, she would heal quickly, but it would be a waste of her Master's mana. That's not to mention that civilians would start asking questions if two strangers walked away from a high-speed wreck virtually unscathed.

Caster instead chose to tighten her hold on Dante's midsection and dig her face into his back.

When the screaming metal death trap finally came to a halt, Caster was unable to stop herself from letting out an audible sigh of relief.

Feelings of relief quickly gave way to awe when she laid her eyes upon the next venue of her day out with Dante.

Carefully crafted stalls were neatly placed along the fairgrounds, each of them offering a different service.

Several of them were host to a multitude of games that Caster couldn't possibly begin to identify with stuffed and colorful prizes hanging from their walls. Children and adults alike clamored around the stalls

Those that didn't contain games instead served as concession stands with men and women in colorful uniforms dispensing a vast array of snacks and candy. Even from her place outside, Caster was still able to discern the delightful scent of sweet, sugary, and fried foods.

The snacks and games paled in comparison to the main attraction. Stealing the show from the rest of the premises was a red-and-white hightop tent that towered several stories in the air.

"I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you've never been to the carnival either," Dante said as he grinned at the sight of Caster's awestruck expression.

"I wasn't allowed to leave my home very often," Caster explained.

Dante gave Caster's shoulder a reassuring squeeze before they took their place in line for admission.

"Y'know, I've only been to a carnival once before," Dante said.

Caster looked at him in surprise. "Really?"

"Turns out carnivals aren't all that fun when you go alone. Good thing you're here to remedy that, eh?" Dante grinned, making Caster blush in a combination of flattery and embarrassment.

Master and Servant found themselves at the admission booth surprisingly quickly.

The man working the booth was a gangly teen with an acne-ridden face. Dante counted himself lucky that he never had acne troubles like most teens.

"Good evening," he said as his eyes "discretely" roved all over Caster's body. Dante had to remind himself that they wouldn't get in if he punched his lights out. It seemed he would have to settle for words. How boring.

Caster managed to beat him to the punch. "My eyes are up here!" growled Caster, her eyes starting to glow an eerie shady of purple.

The teen gulped in fear of the almost tangible aura of hostility surrounding Caster.

"Two adult tickets. Have a good evening," he squeaked. Dante had to give him points for not stammering his way through his statement.

After paying for their tickets, the duo entered the carnival grounds.

"Don't let it get to you. As hot as you are, you're bound get more than a few stares."

Caster huffed. "It's still rude to have such lewd gazes sent my way."

"Can't argue with you there. Now, enough about that, let's play some games!" Caster found her lips shifting into a smile, Dante's enthusiasm infecting her very being.

Dante and Caster entered the carnival grounds, Caster's head on a swivel as she tried to take in as much of her environment as she could.

Dante chuckled at her display of childlike wonder.

Her eyes wide in excitement, Caster turned to look at Dante.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"Just your reaction. We've barely set foot in the place and you already look like you're about to explode. We haven't even played any games yet."

Caster looked at him, aghast. "How can you not be excited? This place is amazing! If anything, you should be just as- did you say games?" Caster rambled before rapidly changing the subject.

Dante rolled his eyes at her short attention span.

Spotting a nearby carnival game, Dante took Caster by the hand.

"Come on, I'll win you something," Dante said before leading her over to the booth.

If Dante were to look behind him, he would see Caster's face doing an excellent impression of a cherry.

They had excellent timing as the line had just been cleared, the last player, a man in his early thirties led his distraught son away by the hand.

"Hello, sir! How would you like to win your date a prize? Just five hundred yen for three balls. Knock over all of the bottles to win," The booth operator, a short, young man in his earlier twenties, merrily appealed to Dante and Caster both.

Dante looked to Caster for confirmation. She nodded furiously in confirmation and pointed at a prize.

"You're on. I'll take three balls, then."

The exuberant stall worker gladly took Dante's money and supplied him with three, fist-sized white balls.

Dante hefted one of the balls to test its weight. Once he was satisfied, Dante threw his first fall.

He managed to knock over the top three bottles, while the bottom row remained largely ineffective.

After the bottles were set back up, Dante threw his second ball, this time a little harder only to be met with similar results. Only this time, the bottom row moved ever so slightly.

"Last chance," the booth operator reminded Dante.

Dante narrowed his eyes. He wasn't about to let himself be bested by a clearly rigged carnival game.

Dante went into a pitcher's wind up, his muscles clenched in preparation. Softly exhaling, Dante let the ball fly.

With the considerable amount of force driving the projectile, the bottles didn't stand a chance.

The ball rocketed into the stack of bottles, sending them all flying.

The ball didn't stop there. It proceeded to crash through the back of the wooden booth before becoming lost in the night…At least until Dante heard a loud crash and a blaring car alarm accompanied by a shout of dismay.

"My car!" a man shouted from somewhere outside the carnival grounds.

Oops.

"Choose a prize," the booth worker whimpered, terrified by Dante's inhuman display of strength.

With a look of satisfaction on his face, Dante snagged the prize Caster had chosen from where it hung from the top of the booth.

Caster happily hugged it to herself.

"It's perfect," Caster said.

"What the hell is it?" Dante asked, the stuffed creature unlike anything he'd ever seen.

It had four legs with a yellow-green body and a long neck surrounded by a cover of pink flower petals. Two antennae swept back from where they emerged on its forehead. One of its plastic eyes was cross-eyed while the other eye looked away at nothing in particular.

"I don't know," Caster said as she clutched it tighter to her chest. "I'll name him "Mr. Stake!" Caster happily declared.

"Mr. Stake?" Dante parroted.

Caster nodded. "Yeah, because he looks like a mistake of nature!"

Dante scrutinized the stuffed animal and concluded that she had a point. "Fair enough," Dante said.

"I'm glad you agree. Now, I believe we have an entire carnival to explore." Caster said as she squirmed in anticipation.

Their outing continued, as Caster dragged Dante around the carnival grounds with gusto.

Much to her delight, she was given the opportunity to try such wonders as funnel cake and cotton candy.

It was a small miracle in itself that Dante didn't have to perform the Heimlich maneuver on Caster. After her first taste of funnel cake, she inhaled the fried treat and had all but licked the plate clean in less than five minutes.

That aside, they quickly discovered that Caster quite the knack for carnival games, conquering the game stalls on-by-one in quick succession.

By the time night had fallen, Caster had won so many prizes, that she resembled a congealed mass of stuffed animals and a pair of human legs.

"This was the best day ever!" Caster gushed, her voice slightly muffled by the small army of toys.

"I'm glad you had fun. We'll have to do this again sometime. "Maybe we could even bring Lady and Saber next time," Dante mused aloud.

Were it not for Caster's prizes, Dante would have seen her frown at his words.

"Master, do we really have to bring her along?" Caster groaned.

"Now, I know she's a bit…abrasive-"

"More like bitchy," Caster grumbled.

"Abrasive," Dante corrected, " But if we're going to be allies, we have to learn to get along.

"She's the one who's picking fights and hurling insults! There's no way that we'll ever get along!" Caster argued.

Caster was caught off guard by the sound of her Master's chuckles.

"What's so funny?"

Dante bit back his laughter so he could speak. "I just remember thinking the same thing when I met Lady," Dante said, garnering her confusion as a result.

"What do you mean? You and Lady are practically attached at the hip," Caster said. In the scarce few days she had known them, she had never seen her Master and Lady be anything but friendly, if not a bit flirty, towards one another.

Dante let out a bark of laughter.

"It wasn't always like that. When we first met, she tried to kill me on several different occasions."

Caster scoffed. "I find that hard to believe,"

"It's true," Dante insisted. "But, with time, and a common enemy we grew closer until our friendship became what it is today. Keep trying with Saber, I'm sure you'll wear her down eventually."

Caster sighed in resignation. "Alright, but if that bitch picks a fight, I'm not just going to lay there and take it."

"Wasn't expecting you to. It's late, we should be getting back."

Dante and Caster left the park, Dante having to guide her as her vision was impaired by her prizes.

It wasn't until they got back to Dante's motorcycle that he realized they had a problem.

"How are we supposed to get all your prizes home?" Dante asked.

Dante quickly received his answer when Servant and toys alike were engulfed in a familiar purple glow. Dante watched as Caster's stuffed animals winked out of existence with a small shimmer of light.

Just as suddenly as it appeared, the radiant light dissipated, leaving a now unencumbered Caster.

"Where'd they go?" Dante asked.

"I sent them away to a little pocket dimension where I like to keep important things."

His curiosity sated, Dante and Caster got on the motorcycle.

The ride home was mostly silent with Caster electing to bury her face into Dante's back, a look of contentment on her face.

They came home to see that the living room lights were still on, Lady's and Saber's silhouettes vaguely visible through the shutters.

Dante rolled into the drive way and killed the engine.

Halfway to the front door, Caster lightly tugged on Dante's arm, bringing him to a stop.

"What's wrong?" Dante asked after he noticed the nervous look on her face.

"Remember when you asked me what my name was?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I'm ready to tell you now. My name, my real name is Medea."

"Medea, huh? Got a nice ring to it. I can't help but feel like that name sounds vaguely familiar," Dante murmured as he stroked his chin in thought.

"Look it up on the internet and you'll see why. Whatever you find, I just want you to know that I had a lot of fun today."

Dante gave Caster's shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"Judging by how you're acting, I'm guessing I'm going to find some less than flattering things. But those things are in the past. I promise it won't change how I look at you."

Caster wrapped Dante in a tight hug.

"Thank you," Caster all but whispered.

"I just have one question. Why are you choosing to tell me this now?" Dante asked as he awkwardly patted her on the back.

Dante had never been much of a hugger.

"It's the least I could do in return for a day of fun," Caster explained before she disengaged from her Master.

"Ready to get the third degree from mom and dad?" Dante joked, garnering a small chuckle from Caster.

"As ready as I'll ever be," she said.

The duo entered the house and were greeted by the sight of Lady leaning against the staircase with her arms crossed, and a look of annoyance on her face.

"It's about time you got home! I've been trying to reach you for hours! I left at least a hundred voice mails!" Lady growled.

Dante fished his phone out of his pocket and grimaced at the screen.

He had fifty-six voicemails.

"Sorry. We didn't mean to stay out so late," Dante apologized, hoping it would be enough to appease the raging dragon that is Lady.

Lady sighed in exasperation and grabbed the bridge of her nose between her fingers.

"Just don't let it happen again," Lady said, surprising Dante. "Now, I hope you weren't planning on going to bed, because we have a flight to catch. I already packed your bags for you," Lady said as she jabbed a thumb over at the couch.

It was then that Dante noticed the array of suitcases, placed next to said piece of furniture where Saber was filing her nails.

"What's this all about?" Dante asked.

Heterochromatic eyes met icy blue.

"Enzo called. We've got a job to do."

 **And that does it for chapter three of A Not So Holy Grail War.**

 **I'm sorry this chapter took me so long but I had a lot of trouble writing it."**

 **I realize that a chapter that mostly depicts a date (because let's face it, that's what it was) might not be everybody's cup of tea. But, I thought this would be an excellent method of Helping Caster and Dante bond and to develop their relationship.**

 **II tried too keep Dante in charactter as much as i could, but i realize there wer some OOC moments..Sorry**

 **Also, I know the scene at the diner was a giant cliché, but I needed to put a bit of action in the chapter somewhere.**

 **Sue me.**

 **Feel free to drop a review and tell me what you liked and what you didn't. Constructive criticism is welcome while flames will be ignored.**

 **Anyway, I will see you all next time!**

 **Peace out!**


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